About Picus awokera Temminck, 1836
Description: This species reaches approximately 30 cm in total length. It has bright green wings and tail, a red or black mustache and crown (this differs from the black face of the European green woodpecker), gray head, neck, and chest, and white underparts marked with black patterns. Its bill is yellow, while the legs and feet are light gray. The iris is red.
Distribution and habitat: This woodpecker occurs across most of Japan’s large islands, and is also found on smaller Japanese islands including Tobishima, Awashima, Sado, and Tsushima. Its total distribution covers an area of 281,000 km². Japanese green woodpeckers inhabit open mixed forests in the northern part of their range, and warm-temperate evergreen forests in the south. They also live in parks and gardens. The species avoids mature coniferous monocultures. It is restricted to hilly landscapes and lower mountain regions within its range, and is most commonly found at elevations between 300 and 1400 m; it sometimes occurs in lowlands, or at elevations as high as 2000 m.
Food and feeding: This woodpecker mostly forages in the middle tree layer, at heights between 2 and 10 m, on larger tree branches. It also forages on twigs, and sometimes forages on the ground. Its diet consists of ants from the genera Lasius, Formica, Camponotus, and Crematogaster, plus true bugs, beetles, beetle larvae, and spiders. It also feeds on fruits, berries, seeds, resin, and nectar.
