Levaillant's woodpecker Levaillant's woodpecker The Levaillant’s woodpecker or Levaillant’s green woodpecker ("Picus vaillantii") is a large African member of the woodpecker family Picidae. Levaillant's woodpecker is sometimes considered a subspecies of the European green woodpecker. It is monotypic, meaning it has no subspecies. This species was named in honour of the French explorer, collector and ornithologist, François Le Vaillant. Levaillant’s woodpecker is found in the three Maghreb countries Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia in northwest Africa. It breeds in mountain forests up to the treeline at around 2000m. Levaillant’s woodpecker is 30–33 cm in length with a 45–51 cm wingspan. It is very
European green woodpecker nest in Romania found that 10 species of ant were fed to the chicks. During the first 10 days, the young received an average of 15 g each, from days 10–20, 39.5 g, and from day 20, 49.3 g. The seven chicks consumed an estimated 1.5 million ants and pupae before leaving the nest. The beak is relatively weak and used for pecking in soft wood only. In common with other woodpecker species, the green woodpecker's tongue is long (10 cm) and has to be curled around its skull. It lacks the barbs of the Dendrocopos woodpeckers and black woodpecker,