European green woodpecker main food of the European green woodpecker is ants of the genera "Lasius" and "Formica" for which it spends much of its time foraging on the ground, though other insects and small reptiles are also taken occasionally. The bird's distinctive, elongated, cylindrical droppings often consist entirely of ant remains. At ant nests, it probes into the ground and licks up adult ants and their larvae. They have tongues that wrap to the back of their head. Green woodpeckers will often forage in short grazed or mown permanent grasslands where the availability of ant nests is high. A study of a
Cuban green woodpecker with black or greenish-black, yellow on flanks barred with black. The crissum (the area around the cloaca) is yellow with black barring. Females are significantly smaller than the male, generally shorter-billed. Juveniles are generally duller in plumage, showing more barring and streaking below. It measures in length and weighs . Its natural habitats are dry forests, lowland moist forests, and heavily degraded former forest. Cuban green woodpecker The Cuban green woodpecker ("Xiphidiopicus percussus") is a species of bird in the family Picidae. It is the only species within the genus Xiphidiopicus. It is endemic to Cuba. A distinctive, relatively small