Middle Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos medius), adult leaving nest, Abruzzo, Italy

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Middle Spotted Woodpeckers are very localized and rare in northern and central Italy. They are more common in some of the southern regions, noticeably Puglia and Basilicata. They are sedentary birds, they drum very rarely (if at all) and they seem to favour oak woods. They are quite hard to spot as they tend to feed high up in old trees, but their presence is often revealed by the raptor-like wail they emit frequently, particularly just before the nesting season. Here an adult is leaving its nest after having fed small young.

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Size: 3104px × 4672px
Location: Abruzzo, Italy, Appenine mountains
Photo credit: © Paul Harris / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No

Keywords: abruzzi, bird, boschi, cerro, dendrocopos, estinzione, extinction, forest, foreste, italia, italy, medius, mezzano, middle, montagna, nest, oak, picchio, picidae, piciformes, quercia, rare, raro, rosso, sottospecie, spotted, tambureggiamento, woodpecker, woods