Woodpecker, Black

The Black Woodpecker is one of the largest woodpeckers. The plumage of this crow-sized bird is entirely black apart from a red crown. In males, the entire crown is red, but in females only the top hindcrown is red with the rest of the body all black. The juvenile black woodpecker is similar but is less glossy, with a duller red crown and a paler grey throat and bill. The piercing yellow eyes and manic, high-pitched calls of the black woodpecker have made it the villain of fairy tales throughout its range. Their voice is remarkable in that it has two different calls. One is a short single high-pitched note, a loud, whistling kree-kree-kree, done only twice in a row. The other is a screech-like shrill while in flight. Unlike other woodpecker species, the black woodpecker does not have a dipping, bounding flight but instead flies with slow, unsteady-seeming wing beats with its head raised.