English:  White-backed Woodpecker
Russian: Белоспинный дятел
Mongolian: Хондлойцагаан тоншуур, Хондлой цагаан тоншуул

German: Weissruckenspecht  

French: Pic a dos blanc   
Japanese:  オオアカゲラ (O-aka-gera)

Body length: 25-28 cm

Breeds in wet mixed forest, often by lakes and rivers, with plenty of dead and dying deciduous trees (aspen, sallow, alder, birch); thus requires areas undisturbed by forestry operations, so now greatly threatened. Food insects, including larvae of longhorn beetles. Spends much time near ground pecking at alder bases etc., often leaving traces in form of large, deep craters (almost as Black Woodpecker). Mobile and unpredictable, but not particularly shy. Large territory. Nest hole c. 5 ½ x 6 ½ cm.

Identification: Slightly bigger than Great  Spotted Woodpecker, longer-necked, with more angular head profile and longer bill. Vent light red, poorly demarcated, belly faintly tinged buffy-pink. Flanks streaked. Black band on head-side does not reach crown, leaves white ‘throughway’. Despite its name, white back can be hard to see, but at least in flight lower back is conspicuously white. Perched bird in side view told by white median coverts forming broad horizontal patch, broader than white remex bars. ♂ has all-red crown, ♀ black. Variation: Birds in SE Europe and Turkey have vermiculated white back and can also have barred flanks.