Black Woodpecker

Black Woodpecker (Dryocopus martius) is a very large, almost entirely black woodpecker with a powerful pale bill and red crown markings that differ between the sexes. Body shape, bill structure, plumage pattern and voice provide the strongest field characters. Age, sex and season may alter its appearance, so identification should combine several features and careful direct field comparisons with similar species in the same habitat (Wikipedia, general species account).

It inhabits extensive mature Palearctic forest, excavating deep cavities in large trees and chiselling into wood for ants and beetle larvae; its abandoned holes provide shelter for many other animals. Its movements and social behaviour vary through the year, with breeding birds generally more dispersed and non-breeding birds gathering where food is concentrated. Japanese records place it within the country's documented avifauna as a resident, migrant or visitor (Wikipedia, general species account; Wildlife of Japan occurrence records).