In Roman mythology , a woodpecker sacred to Mars .
A minor agricultural deity associated with the fertilization of the soil, Picus was widely worshiped in ancient Italy. Later versions of the myth made him an early king of Italy, whose bride, Circe , changed him into a woodpecker. In art he was shown as a woodpecker mounted on a pillar, and later as a youth with a woodpecker on his head. The woodpecker was also an important bird in augury.