Woodpeckers in the city: Abundances are highest in large green spaces with complex understories.

This article investigates the occurrence, relative abundance, and minimum area requirements (MAR) of five woodpecker species in 36 urban forested green spaces in Portland, Oregon, USA. The study found that woodpecker abundance generally increased with green space area and was higher in natural green spaces with complex understories compared to manicured parks, except for the ground-foraging Northern Flicker. MAR varied by species and body size, ranging from under 1.5 hectares for smaller species like Downy Woodpeckers to over 50 hectares for larger species such as Pileated Woodpeckers, with Northern Flickers exhibiting a notably low MAR relative to body size. Habitat features influencing abundance included canopy composition, canopy cover, and log density, while landscape-level factors such as urbanization and surrounding forest cover also affected certain species. The authors recommend urban forest management prioritize large, structurally complex green spaces to support area-sensitive woodpecker species and, by extension, broader avian biodiversity.