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
The Woodpecker Song The song is not The Woody Woodpecker Song composed later in the 1940s by George Tibbles and Ramey Idriess and used in the Woody Woodpecker cartoon series. The Woodpecker Song "The Woodpecker Song" ("Reginella Campagnola") is originally an Italian song. The music was written by in 1939, while the Italian lyrics were written by Bruno Cherubini (pseudonym "C. Bruno"). The English lyrics were written by Harold Adamson. The song became a hit in 1940, recorded by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra, The Andrews Sisters, and Kate Smith in 1940. The Glenn Miller recording on RCA Bluebird featuring Marion Hutton on