Other inhabitant of high pine forests, the Teneriffa’s great spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major canariensis) is an endemic subspecies. I was lucky and I observed a pair, the male with red patch on the nape, buffy-white under parts and red- orange vent, less contrasted colours than in our Woodpecker. The female shows a buffy patch on nape, less uniformly black than in ours.
Alerted by its drumming, I only had to raise my eyes upwards. It was actively working onto a closed pine-cone, half hidden into the fine Canarian Pine needles. On the close tree, the female climbed around the trunk, quiet and not impressed at all by our presence.