Wildlifeof Vietnam
Grey-headed Woodpecker
Barbets & Woodpeckers
Photo: (c) Piyush Marwadi, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY
Picus canus
Rare visitor: recorded only occasionally in this country
Basic stats
Diet
Mainly ants
Habitat
Deciduous forest with a high proportion of dead trees; nests in dead or damaged trees
Range
Central and eastern Palearctic to the Pacific, south to the Himalaya and the Malay Peninsula
Clutch size
5–10 eggs, laid in May
Incubation period
15–17 days
Size
25–26cm
Wingspan
38–40cm
Weight
About 125g
The grey-headed woodpecker is 25 to 26cm long with a wingspan of 38 to 40cm and weighs about 125g. The male of the nominate form has a grey head with a red forecrown, a black line across the lores and a narrow black moustache stripe, and a pale grey breast and underbody. It is more demanding in its habitat than the European green woodpecker (Wikipedia, general species account).
It prefers deciduous forest with many dead trees and feeds primarily on ants. Its far-carrying territorial song is a series of ten to fifteen calls of declining pitch, gradually slowing. It breeds in May, laying five to ten eggs brought up by both parents, with hatching after 15 to 17 days and fledging after 24 to 25 days. The account opened places it south to the Himalaya, without naming Bhutan.
Quick answers
- What does the Grey-headed Woodpecker eat?
- Mainly ants
- What habitat does the Grey-headed Woodpecker live in?
- Deciduous forest with a high proportion of dead trees; nests in dead or damaged trees
- Where is the Grey-headed Woodpecker found?
- Central and eastern Palearctic to the Pacific, south to the Himalaya and the Malay Peninsula
- How many eggs does the Grey-headed Woodpecker lay?
- 5–10 eggs, laid in May
- How long are the eggs of the Grey-headed Woodpecker incubated?
- 15–17 days
- How big is the Grey-headed Woodpecker?
- 25–26cm
- What is the wingspan of the Grey-headed Woodpecker?
- 38–40cm
- How much does the Grey-headed Woodpecker weigh?
- About 125g