Distribution of the White-backed Woodpecker Dendrocopos leucotos lilfordi in the southern Pyrenees

Abstract

We have compiled the information available for the White-Backed Woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos lilfordi) on the south-facing slopes of the Pyrenees since its detection in 1968 until 2016 and we have added the results of specific censuses carried out between 2017 and 2021 and the results of the GPS marking of reproductive specimens, both within the known range, as in other beech forests beyond its borders. An expansion towards the West and North has been verified. The nests are always located in F. sylvatica, except in the extreme western territories where they use Q. rubra too. The breeders in the traditional range are always individuals of more than two years old (euring 6), although a number of breeding juveniles have appeared in the extreme west (euring 5). Beech occupies more than 70% of the surface of all the territories, but this percentage is significantly lower in the newly detected territories than in those within the traditional distribution area. These latest results suggest that the expansion process is relatively recent and that it may still be in progress. The role of forest management in efforts to enable the expansion of this species to other beech forests in which it has not yet been detected is discussed.