Dendrocopos major
The Great Spotted Woodpecker, Dendrocopos major, is a striking and widespread species easily identified by its pied plumage and distinctive calls. Measuring approximately 23-26 cm in length with a wingspan of 38-44 cm and weighing 70-100 grams, adults display a bold black and white pattern: white underparts, black upperparts with large white patches on the shoulders, and prominent black and white barring on the flight feathers. A key field mark is the bright red undertail coverts. Sexual dimo...
This adaptable species thrives in a wide array of wooded environments, from dense coniferous and deciduous forests to urban parks, gardens, and orchards, typically found from sea level up to subalpine elevations (e.g., 2,000m in the Alps, 4,000m in parts of Asia).
Their diet is highly varied, predominantly consisting of insects (especially wood-boring beetle larvae and pupae), seeds from conifers, nuts, and occasionally sap; they also take bird eggs and nestlings, especially in spring.
Great Spotted Woodpeckers are primarily diurnal, roosting in tree cavities at night, often excavating a fresh roost hole for daily use. Their foraging strategy involves drumming, pecking, and chiseling into bark and wood to extract insect larvae, utilizing their stiff tail feathers for support an...
The Great Spotted Woodpecker boasts an extensive Palearctic distribution, spanning almost all of Europe, large swathes of Asia including Siberia, Mongolia, China, Korea, and Japan, and parts of northwestern Africa. Its breeding range covers most of this vast area, from the Atlantic coast in the w...
Least Concern
- The Great Spotted Woodpecker's tongue can extend up to 4 cm beyond its bill and is barbed at the tip, perfectly adapted for extracting insects from deep crevices. - To protect its brain from the shock of repeated impacts, this woodpecker has specialized spongy bone tissue between its skull and ...