a genus of birds of the order Piciformes. Their plumage is green or olive. Ten species are found in Europe, northwestern Africa, and Asia. There are three species in the USSR—the green woodpecker (P. viridis), gray woodpecker (P. canus), and scaly-bellied green woodpecker (P. squamatus). They live primarily in deciduous forests and often feed on the ground, eating ants and other insects.