Scientific Name:
Dendrocopos major
Common Name:
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Family:
Woodpeckers, Piculets and Wrynecks: Picidae
Summary:
The Great Spotted Woodpecker is the most common woodpecker of the British Isles. An attractive bird with a black crown, back and wings, a white face and underparts. The wings have large white patches. There is a red patch on the body under the tail area, and on the male a small red patch the back of the head.
Ecology:
As one would expect, the Great Spotted Woodpecker is predominately a woodland bird. It flies in a distinctive undulating pattern. They drum on trees using their bill, hitting the wood many times a second causing it to resonate, this sound announces their presence in an area. They nest by digging out a hole in the unsound wood of an old tree. They feed mainly larvae, but also eat spiders, insects and seeds.
Habitat:
Broadleaf and conifer woodland
Distribution:
Throughout England and Wales. Distributed in Scotland but absent from the far north. Not present in Ireland.
Size:
23 cm