SPORTING ANSWERS
Drumming woodpeckers
BIRDLIFE
Q Do green woodpeckers ever drum?
A The answer is yes, but rarely.
I encounter green woodpeckers frequently, seeing or hearing birds on a daily basis, but I have never heard one drumming, or even suspected one of doing so.
My research suggests that certain populations are more likely to drum than others. It seems that drumming is more frequent in parts of central Europe than it is here.
Drumming is a territorial display performed by almost all the true woodpeckers, of which there are more than 250 species around the world.
Each species has its own unique drum, varying in duration and length. The biggest of the European woodpeckers, the black, has a drum that sounds like bursts of machine-gun fire and is heard at a considerable range.
Apparently, green woodpeckers are not nearly as noisy, with a drum roll of about 12 taps in a second and a half, which is repeated four to eight times a
