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714 Featured Specimen
Great spotted woodpecker

Details

Great spotted woodpecker

Dendrocopos major

Size
20–24 cm · 70–100 g
Diet
Omnivore
Activity
Diurnal
Sociality
Solitary
Lifespan

A black-and-white woodpecker widespread across Eurasian woodland, climbing trunks and advertising territories by drumming.

Range

Habitat range map
Native range Occasional / Transient
PalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticPalearcticAfrotropicalAfrotropicalAfrotropicalAfrotropicalIndomalayanIndomalayanIndomalayanIndomalayanIndomalayanIndomalayanIndomalayanIndomalayanIndomalayanIndomalayanIndomalayanIndomalayanIndomalayanIndomalayanIndomalayan

Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)

Details

Habitat

Lives in deciduous, conifer, and mixed woods as well as parks, orchards, and gardens with dead or mature trees for nest holes.

Appearance

Black-and-white plumage, white shoulder patches, and red undertail coverts are distinctive. Males have a red nape patch; juveniles have red crowns.

Behavior

It climbs trunks and branches, bracing with stiff tail feathers. In spring it drums loudly on resonant dead wood.

Feeding

Insect larvae, adult insects, seeds, nuts, and fruit are eaten. Pine cones and feeders are used in winter.

Reproduction

Pairs excavate nest holes in dead or soft wood. Old cavities later provide shelter for many other small animals.

Notes

Large range and population keep it low-risk; retaining mature trees and dead wood supports local breeding habitat.