Habitat requirements of the Black Woodpecker,Dryocopus martius, in Hyrcanian forests, Iran

The relationships between the Black Woodpecker (Dryocopus martius (Linnaeus, 1758)) abundance and forest characteristics and the role of coarse woody debris for habitat selection were assessed. One hundred point counts were conducted 250 m apart in Hyrcanian forest in northern Iran from 21 April to 21 May 2009. There was a noticeable difference in forest structure between areas where the Black Woodpecker was present and absent, with the species preferring the later stages of forest succession. Tall and large diameter trees, high volumes of coarse woody debris, especially large snags, and dense canopy cover, all of which characterise mature forests, are significantly higher in areas where the Black Woodpecker occurs. Altogether, the conservation of the Black Woodpecker depends to a large extent on how the forests they inhabit are managed.