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Photo: G. Bradley
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UK
Safari Tip:
Get help identifying birds with the superbly illustrated "Top 50
Garden Birds" identification chart - click
here
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Latin name: Dendrocopus major
Size: Between 20 and 25cms from head to tail.
Distribution: Found in England, Scotland and Wales.
Months seen: All year round.
Habitat: Woodlands, parks and gardens.
Food: Seeds and insects
Special features: This is the UK's most common woodpecker. The great spotted woodpecker, is sometimes called the 'pied woodpecker' because of its black and white
colouring.
 Both the male and female birds have a vivid red patch under the tail, but only the males have a red patch at the back of the neck. Juvenile birds have a red patch on top of their heads.
In late winter and early spring they are very audible, as the males perform their annual territorial drumming solo. This is to tell other males to keep out of their patch of the woods.
Hear this Woodpecker Drumming
• Click
here for the MP3 - 16 KB
• Click
here for the WAV - 39 KB
They do this by striking their beak against a dead branch 10 to 15 times in under a second. Because this is done high in the tree tops, it produces a resonating drum sound, which echoes all around the woodland.
The nest is made by chiseling out a hole in a tree trunk with its beak. It's strengthened skull help to cushion the blows. The female lays up to seven eggs, which are all white in
colour.
UK Safari Bird Section
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