Three-Toed Woodpecker

Three-Toed Woodpecker 

(Picoides tridactylus), a bird of the family Picidae. The body length is approximately 22 cm. The feet have three toes, and the bill is relatively slender. The dorsal side of the body is black with white, while the ventral side ranges from pure white to very mottled with black markings. The crest is golden yellow in the male, white in the female. The three-toed woodpecker is distributed in the forest zone of Europe, Asia, and North America. The bird keeps to humid coniferous forests of fir and spruce, cedar, and larch, avoiding pine forests; it is often found in scorched areas with many dead trees. It is very beneficial, as it feeds on insects, especially bark beetles and their larvae.