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15

Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) German name(s): "Buntspecht" Size: 22-23 cm; wing span: 34-39 cm Weight: 60-90 g

Europe: Family Group 15 Family Group 15 Table Hoopoe Eurasian Treecreeper Black Woodpecker European Green Woodpecker Great Spotted Woodpecker Middle Spotted Woodpecker Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names European birds home page

Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Great Spotted Woodpeckers have an almost all black and white plumage, which is dimorphic, i.e. males and females are slightly different. Male Great Spotted Woodpeckers have an almost all-black back, from forehead to tail, except the nape of the neck, where they have a prominent crimson spot. The frons, sides of the head (apart from a black fringe around the ear coverts, from the black base of the bill to the neck), the chin and much of the chest and belly are off-white to creamy. Only the vent and undertail coverts are red (race "numidus" also has a red chest patch). Apart from a broad white wing bar and prominent white spots on the flight feathers that give the species its name, the wings are black. The tail is also black, with several large white spots on the outer edges. Females are almost identical with males; however, they lack the crimson spot at the nape of the neck, which is black instead. The irises of both sexes are brown. The straight, pointy bill is dark-grey. Legs and feet are grey. Like all other treecreepers and related species they have long toes, with two pointing forward and two backward.

Taxonomy, classification See Great Spotted Woodpecker at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed based on sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to the ebird.org website. The global distribution of the Great Spotted Woodpecker is available HERE . There are several races of Great Spotted Woodpeckers, with a wide-ranging distribution through mid-latitude Eurasia (for details see, e.g. Wikipedia ). Their total range encompasses almost all of Europe, all of mid-latitude Asia, to the Sakhalin peninsula and most of Japan in the East and large parts of south-eastern Asia, including all of eastern China, except the far South. There are also populations in parts of near-coastal north-western Africa and on some of the Cape Verdian islands. In Europe Great Spotted Woodpeckers of nominate race "major" populate almost the entire continent (including recently again Ireland), except northern Scandinavia and the highest regions of the South-Norwegian mountain range, Greece and most of the Mediterranean islands. Their range extends around most of the Black Sea coastline into the Caucasus mountain range. Great Spotted Woodpeckers are at home in a variety of woodlands and forests, often - especially in winter - with conifers. During the winter they can also often be found in parks and gardens.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "major" Great Spotted Woodpeckers, race "major", were spotted by D. Wilczynska near Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, in August 2016, and again in May 2017, in Biebrza NP, Poland. Next, one was spotted along the river Bug, near Brok, Masovia, Poland, in March 2019. All sighting and photographic information presented on this page has been kindly contributed by D. Wilczynska.

Photos

Race "major"

ADULT

MALE

Frontal view of a male Great Spotted Woodpecker (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, August 2016]

Lateral view of a male Great Spotted Woodpecker (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Biebrza NP, Poland, May 2017]

Lateral view of a male Great Spotted Woodpecker (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, August 2016]

Lateral view of a male Great Spotted Woodpecker foraging for wood-boring grubs; note the characteristic crimson spot on the nape of the neck (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, August 2016]

Near-dorsal view of a male Great Spotted Woodpecker (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Biebrza NP, Poland, May 2017]

Dorsal view of a male Great Spotted Woodpecker (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Brok, Masovia, Poland, March 2019]

FEMALE

Frontal view of a female Great Spotted Woodpecker (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, August 2016]

Lateral view of a female Great Spotted Woodpecker (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, August 2016]

Lateral view of a female Great Spotted Woodpecker visiting a bird feeder (photo courtesy of M. Thomas)
[Eltville, Hessen, Germany, January 2013]

Dorsal view of a female Great Spotted Woodpecker; note the characteristic all-black nape of the neck visible in this shot (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Ostrow Mazowiecka, Masovia, Poland, August 2016]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

gswoodp_dw_20160806.m4a	major (Poland)	Contact calls? (male)	© DW
gswoodp_dw_20160806_2.m4a	major (Poland)	Contact calls? (Q&A)	© DW

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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