European green woodpecker though the latter is smaller and more slender with narrower wings and longer tail. The closely related, very similar Levaillant's woodpecker occurs only in north-west Africa. The European green woodpecker is a member of the order Piciformes, the woodpecker family Picidae and the genus Picus. It was first described by Linnaeus in 1758. The scientific name is derived from the Greek "pikos", meaning 'woodpecker', and Latin "viridis", 'green'. There are four subspecies, with subtle and mostly clinal differences between them. In a recent study based on mitochondrial DNA analysis of subspecies by Perktaş, Barrowclough and Groth, it has been proposed
Gabon woodpecker Gabon woodpecker The Gabon woodpecker ("Dendropicos gabonensis") is a species of small woodpecker in the family Picidae which occurs in western central Africa. The Gabon woodpecker is a small woodpecker with a short bill which is quite broad at the base. It has plain green upperparts, a plain dark tail and heavily spotted underparts with a yellowish background colour. The crown is brownish but the males have a red hindcrown and nape, as well as an indistinct, narrow moustachial. The adult females lack red on the head, however both sexes of juveniles have red on the centre of the crown.