European green woodpecker to split this species into three distinct species: "P. viridis" (Linnaeus, 1758) and "P. innominatus" (Sarudny & Loudon, 1905). The Iberian green woodpecker, ("P. sharpei"), has been split by some taxonomists including the IOC. More than 75% of the range of the European green woodpecker is in Europe, where it is absent from some northern and eastern parts and from Ireland, Greenland and the Macaronesian Islands, but otherwise distributed widely. Over half of the European population is thought to be in France, Spain and Germany, with substantial numbers also in Portugal, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Russia, Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria.
Kaempfer's woodpecker red malar and mottling on its crest. For comparison, the rufous-headed woodpecker is larger and has extensive black barring on the back and underparts. Little is known about its habitat preference, but it appears to be associated with bamboo (specifically "Guadua paniculata") growing in Cerrado and babassu palm forest; very unlike the humid forest and woodland where the related rufous-headed woodpecker is found. There is no evidence to suggest that it occurs in Caatinga. Rather, the authors who proposed the common name Caatinga woodpecker and association it with the caatinga habitat mistook a place in the caatinga called Uruçuí-Una for