Grønspætte

Did you know that the Green Woodpecker's tongue does not go down its throat? Instead, it winds around the bird's skull. 

GREEN WOODPECKER

Family: Woodpecker family 

Wetgt:180-220 g

Lifestyle: Breeding pairs, possibly for life

Food: Ants 

The green woodpecker does not like to fly over water. Therefore, it lives especially in Jutland, where it does not have to cross large bodies of water. The green woodpecker lives in a very small area all year round and therefore moves very little during its lifetime.  

The green woodpecker is one of those birds that you hear more often than you see it. Unlike other types of woodpeckers, the green woodpecker rarely "drums" against trees. The green woodpecker does not drum as often as other woodpeckers because it has a completely different hunting technique. 

The Anteater Woodpecker

The green woodpecker feeds primarily on ants. Instead of pecking insects out of trees, the green woodpecker often seeks its food on the ground. Here it uses its anteater-like tongue to lick the ants out of the mounds. 

The tongue of the green woodpecker is quite unique. The tongue can be inserted 10 cm outside the beak - and then the tongue does not get stuck down the throat. On the contrary, the tongue of the green woodpecker divides into 2, down at the base of the tongue. Each of the two points attaches to the upper side of the skull, so that the tongue winds behind and around the skull.

Brightly coloured females

In the green woodpeckers, males and females are very similar. It is not only the males who have the brightly coloured green plumage and the red crown, the females are also decorated. However, you can tell the difference between males and females by looking at their beard stripes. The females' beard stripe is completely black, whereas the male's is black with a red spot inside.