Michel Poinsignon / Black Woodpecker (Dryocopus martius) flying from nest-hole in tree, Vosges Mountains, France. Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2009: Nature in Black and White category: Runner-up...

John Shaw / Crimson-crested woodpecker (Campephilus melanoleucos) at nest cavilty in dead tree. Pantanal, Brazil. July.

Bernard Castelein / Crimson-crested Woodpecker (Campephilus melanoleucos), male, perched on trunk, Municipal protected area of Pampas del Yacuma, Bolivia

Bernard Castelein / Crimson-crested Woodpecker (Campephilus melanoleucos), male, Pampas del Yacuma Protected Area, Bolivia

Marie Read / Golden-fronted woodpecker (Melanerpes aurifrons), male, Cozad Ranch, Rio Grande Valley, Texas, USA, March.

Marie Read / Hairy woodpecker (Picoides villosus) male in snowstorm, Freeville, New York, USA, February.

Marie Read / Hairy woodpecker (Picoides villosus) male in snowstorm, Freeville, New York, USA, February.

Marie Read / Pileated woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) male excavating in search of food, New York, USA. Digital composite.

Markus Varesvuo / Black woodpecker (Dryocopus martius) male perched on tree trunk, trees covered in hoar frost. Kuusamo, Northern Ostrobothnia, Finland. February.

Ashish & Shanthi Chandola / White-bellied woodpecker (Dryocopus javensis) on tree trunk. Bandipur National Park, Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, Karnataka, India.

Ashish & Shanthi Chandola / White-bellied woodpecker (Dryocopus javensis), female on tree trunk with nest cavity. Bandipur National Park, Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, Karnataka, India.

David Perpinan / Two Crimson-crested woodpeckers (Campephilus melanoleucus) in tree at sunset, Pantanal, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil.