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
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