Grey-headed Woodpecker
Latin: Picus canus (Gemlin 1758)
Svenska: Gråspett
Deutsch: Grauspecht
Ant-eater?
The grey-headed woodpecker is a woodpecker that doesn’t peck all that much. Instead, it grabs insects and ants from half-rotted trees and anthills.
The best place to look for a grey-headed woodpecker in Uppland is between lake Tämnaren and the Färnebofjärden national park. Otherwise, Pansarudden nature reserve just east of Uppsala is a good spot. The first ever recorded capture of a grey-headed woodpecker was in Uppland in 1697, when Olof Rudbeck the younger shot one in Uppsala.
Grey-headed woodpeckers stay in Uppland throughout the winter.
Photo: Kjetil Jensen ©
Latest sightings of grey-headed woodpeckers in Uppland
NatureGate on the grey-headed woodpecker
Wikipedia article on the grey-headed woodpecker