Iberian green woodpecker

That's great, Liam, thanks. :) Will update the spotting now.

All the experts agree; female Iberian: http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?...

Liam, if you could post this for me, that would be great, thank you.
Malcolm, I hear what you're saying. It seems as more people become interested in wildlife, the ID-ing of species is becoming more specific.
As for this bird, finding out more information on it is purely for my benefit at the moment, because if it is expanding its range, I want to see if I can spot it again in the future. :)

Dangermouse, it very well could be that the Iberian Green Woodpecker is expanding its range. I'm sure you can get an exact ID from the experts on Birdforum.net. If you don't wish to create an account, I can post for you.
http://www.birdforum.net/forumdisplay.ph...

Most people are happy just to get down to species level (which would be plain old Green Woodpecker) but sub-species are becoming more important now with DNA being used in many cases to separate into new species (and occasionally the reverse). I have only started looking at sub-species this year and many are not mentioned in a lot of books. Even individual birds of the same species can be different sizes and have varying plumages causing overlap in many cases. And many experts have been confused by sub-species.

I don't trust everything on Wikipedia but it is still a tool to use to help ID animals or to supplement knowledge on a spotting. My books mention the Iberian Woodpecker but show no pictures, yet it does show Levaillant's and the picture is a close match. Yet any photo of an Iberian Woodpecker for comparison is difficult to find. Maybe I just need to look harder and be more certain before posting an ID this time - no doubt it is a female Iberian Green Woodpecker, but I'd like to try and find a little more confirmation if possible. :) Again, thanks for your help.

If you trust everything that is written on Wikipedia then I give up, it can be edited at will by any Tom, Dick and Harry who feels inclined to do so and in my opinion contains almost as many errors as true facts in some instances.
Officially the Iberian Green is endemic to the Iberian peninsula and the Pyrenees so that includes Portugal.
The Iberian Green female has red only on the nape according to my books.

Hmm. According to what little Wikipedia has to say on the subject, the Iberian Woodpecker is endemic to Spain, yet on the link provided by Liam, it occurs in certain places in Portugal.... Back to 'unknown', I think! At least for the minute!

Guess that means it has to be an Iberian Green Woodpecker, then, as Liam suggested. Except that it has a black moustache, not a red one. Any chance at all it's a vagrant? Or should I go back to 'unknown'?

Hi Dangermouse, The Levaillant's Green Woodpecker is endemic to the mountains of Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria. This means it is not found anywhere else in the world. The female Levaillant and Iberian are virtually identical and indistinguishable in the field.

Wow, a bit of a debate going on here! :) Thanks for all your comments and thoughts - didn't expect it to be that difficult to ID this bird! Anyway, I'm back with my books and I think I've found out what it is - not an Iberian Green Woodpecker, but a Levaillant's Green Woodpecker, found mostly in North Africa, but that isn't too far from here. Also, in the book, it says that they are very similar to the Iberian Green Woodpecker, but without a red 'moustache' (like this bird). Thanks again to all!

I'd not heard of the Iberian sub-species, but then, I only live here! All my bird books are from elsewhere and even my Iberian book has no mention of it! Apparently most of the differences from the Eurasian Green Woodpecker are very subtle. I will have to check my old photos and see if I have seen one! I know we hear them around here quite a lot but they are very difficult to see and even more difficult to photograph well.

There is a subspecies of European Green Woodpecker called the Iberian Woodpecker that looks more like this bird than the European Green Woodpecker. They're apparently endemic to Spain, though there are a few reports in south Portugal. This could be a young female.
http://ebird.org/ebird/map/grnwoo3?neg=t...

It does Alice, except that they have black breast bands and their bellies are white with black spots below, also they are well out of range although it is possible that one has got blown across the pond. It also has similarities to our own Green Woodpecker, perhaps a juvenile changing plumage to adult.

Looks like a flicker to me.

Looks like a hybrid Green Woodpecker and something else! Maybe its an accidental from Africa or...?

nice series!