Gould mentioned that though there had been many notifications of the Great Black Woodpecker found in England not one of these statements had been verified, nor were there any authenticated British specimens in museums or private collections.

He believed that Black Woodpeckers were often brought from Europe to the London markets, taken into the country, and passed off as British birds.

The male is depicted lifesize with the female in a nest cavity.

DISTRIBUTION: Breeds throughout much of Eurasia through to Kamchatka and Kuril island, south to the north Mediterranean region, Turkey, west Iran through to Mongolia, China, and north Japan. Resident with some dispersion. Gould decided to include this species though at that time there was no authenticated records and there have been none since