Great Spotted Woodpecker

There’s a Great Spotted Woodpecker in this Italian forest. I hear the cry “Picchio Rosso Maggiore” and see it approach:

This woodpecker’s scientific name is Dendrocopos major. The name Dendrocopus combines the Greek words dendron, which means tree, and kopos, which means striking. The major is from Latin maior which means greater. In other words it’s a big tree hitter:

Here’s the last time I saw them in this forest:

Pecking Wood

They are such wonderful birds as they shuffle on big feet at impossible angles:

It’s always a pleasure to get close to one.