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Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (Dryobates [Dendrocopos] minor) German name(s): "Kleinspecht" Size: 14-16 cm; wing span: 25-27 cm Body mass: 16-26 g Wing loading [g/cm2]: 0.20-0.22

Europe: Family Group 15 Family Group 15 Table Hoopoe Eurasian Wryneck Eurasian Treecreeper Short-toed Treecreeper Wallcreeper Black Woodpecker European Green Woodpecker Grey-headed Woodpecker Great Spotted Woodpecker Syrian Woodpecker Middle Spotted Woodpecker Lesser 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 Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers have an almost all black and white plumage, which is dimorphic, i.e. males and females are slightly different. Male Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers have an almost all black-and-white back, from forehead to tail, except the cap, which is crimson, and white barring across the upperwings and the back. The frons and the ear coverts are buff. There is a white gap on the sides of the head (between a black fringe around the ear coverts and around the cap). The chin and throat are white, while the rest of the underparts is creamy to buff, with faint darker streaking. There is NO red on the vent. The uppertail is black, while the undertail is barred black and white. Females are almost identical to males; however, they lack the crimson cap, which is black instead. The irises of both sexes are brown. The short, pointy, thin bill is dark-grey. Legs and feet are grey. Like all treecreepers and related species they have long toes, with two pointing forward and two backward.

Taxonomy, classification See Lesser 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, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker is available HERE . There are 13 extant races of Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers, with a wide-ranging distribution through mid-latitude Eurasia. Their total range encompasses almost all of Europe (except Scotland and Ireland), Asia Minor and Asia northward of ca. 30 degrees latitude (i.e. roughly northward of a line from the southern end of the Caspian Sea via the northern slopes of the Himalayas to central Japan). In Europe there are 5 races of Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers. Nominate race "minor" populates Scandinavia, north-eastern Poland and the Baltic States and from there eastward and south-eastward to the Ural mountains and the Caucasus. Race "comminutus" is found only in England and Wales, while in central Europe there is race "hortorum". Race "buturlini" is found in southern Europe, with the exception of Greece, where race "danfordi" resides. Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers breed in deciduous woodland, in particular with old trees, but also in parkland and old orchards.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "buturlini" J. Pires reports spotting Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers, race "buturlini", occasionally in and around Mora, Evora, Portugal. G. Normand found a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, race "buturlini", in Villeneuve-Loubet, Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, France, in February 2021.

Photos

Race "buturlini"

ADULT

PAIR

Many bird species exhibit sexual dimorphism, i.e., male and female have differing appearances which can be quite subtle.
Male Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers, left, have a red cap with tiny white spots, while the cap of females is black.

MALE

Frontal view of a male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Divor river, Ferrarias, Mora, Evora, Portugal, December 2022]

Near-lateral view of a male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Divor river, Ferrarias, Mora, Evora, Portugal, December 2022]

Near-lateral view of a male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker looking sideways (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Divor river, Ferrarias, Mora, Evora, Portugal, December 2022]

Lateral view of a male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker; note the absence of red on the vent (photo courtesy of G. Normand)
[Villeneuve-Loubet, Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, France, February 2021]

Lateral view of a male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Acude do Gameiro, Mora, Evora, Portugal, December 2022]

Partly obscured near-dorsal view of a male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, January 2021]

Dorsal view of a male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Acude do Gameiro, Mora, Evora, Portugal, December 2022]

FEMALE

Lateral view of a female Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Acude do Gameiro, Mora, Evora, Portugal, October 2024]

Near-dorsal view of a female Lesser Spotted Woodpecker - note the black cap (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Acude do Gameiro, Mora, Evora, Portugal, October 2024]

Near-dorsal view of a female Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Acude do Gameiro, Mora, Evora, Portugal, October 2024]

Near-dorsal view of a female Lesser Spotted Woodpecker excavating a substantial cavity (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Mora, Evora, Portugal, February 2020]

Dorsal view of a female Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Acude do Gameiro, Mora, Evora, Portugal, October 2024]

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Territorial

Mobility: Sedentary

Elementary unit: Solitary

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.

lswoodp_jp_20251019.m4a	buturlini (Portugal)	Contact call(?)	© JP
lswoodp_jp_20200824.m4a	buturlini (Portugal)	Contact calls Q&A(?)	© JP
lswoodp_jp_20180409.m4a	buturlini (Portugal)	Pecking	© JP

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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