DRUMMING

With the exception of the Green Woodpecker and the anomalous Wryneck, all the European woodpeckers regularly ‘drum’. Drumming is the high speed rattling pecking of a resonant surface, used as a display sound. Luckily, in woodland where it is usually difficult to see any birds, woodpecker drums are far-carrying and pretty distinctive, once learned. The loudest and most extreme of the European woodpecker drums is that of the Black Woodpecker; the loud ‘machine gun’ drums can apparently be heard up to 2.5 miles away. Lesser Spotteds have a very even extended ‘rattle’ lasting up to two seconds, while White-backed Woodpeckers have a similarly long drum which starts slowly then accelerates towards the end. Check out the different sounds (drums and calls) on the wonderful resource that is xeno-canto.org/