Great spotted woodpecker
The Great spotted woodpecker is the most common of only three species of woodpecker in the UK, the other two being the Lesser spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopus minor) and the Green woodpecker (Picus viridus). It is present all year round, apart from in extreme northern parts of Scotland, and is famed for its rapid drumming on the sides of trees. The Great spotted woodpecker is, without a doubt, one of the more striking species of bird in the UK.
Of colourful hue and memorable pattern, the Great spotted woodpecker is a stout bird, with black and white spotted wings and two main red patches (head and underbelly); the scarlet patch on the back of the (male) woodpecker’s head is a distinct and unique feature. A simple confusion can often emerge from the fact a young Great spotted woodpecker displays a scarlet patch on top of its head, which disappears after the first moult; these young birds can be easily identified as Lesser spotted woodpeckers, when in fact they’re not.
Latinate etymology
The genus name Dendrocopus is of Greek origin and is a combination of the words dendron, meaning “tree” and kopos, meaning “striking”; Major, of course, is derived from the Latin for “greater”, although by no means does this mean better; simply larger.
In contrast, the Great spotted woodpecker’s counterpart, the Lesser uses the Latin Minor, meaning “smaller”.
Image of a Great spotted woodpecker by Hoitsu Sakai, circa 1800. Japanese art.
Behaviour and habitat
The Great spotted woodpecker is widely distributed across northern parts of the northern hemisphere, an area that stretches from the UK all the way to Japan. Interestingly, there is hardly a hint of a Great spotted woodpecker in Ireland, even though they exist in abundance in England and Wales.
The Great spotted woodpecker spends the vast majority of its time clinging to trees. Shy of nature, it will attempt to hide from prying human eyes, although there never seem to be large problems attracting Great spotted woodpeckers to feeders in the garden. Both deciduous and coniferous trees are favoured, although there is a preference for broad-leaved trees in dense woodland areas.
If you’re looking for a Great spotted woodpecker, listen out in February for its distinctive drumming sound, a technique that is used for establishing territory; other birds do this through mainly song.
Why don’t Great spotted woodpeckers get headaches?
With all the “head banging”, you would expect a Great spotted woodpecker to get a severe headache. Well, they don’t, and there’s a simple reason why, and it is to do with less brain fluid.
When the Great spotted woodpecker drums a tree, its brain does not come into contact with the skull, and vibrates far less than, say, their human counterpart. But there’s more. In an article from the Independent, research was conducted by Chinese scientists in to how Great spotted woodpeckers do not damage their brains.
It turns out there are several complex morphological features that combine to create a shock absorber, including a flexible bone structure located between the beak and the skull. As a consequence of this research, it has been suggested that this natural design feature could be used to develop protective headgear in the future.
Great spotted woodpecker bird food
These highly nutritious and oil-rich sunflower hearts for wild birds come without the husks of complete sunflower seeds.
High quality, recent crop, aflatoxin-tested wild bird peanuts. Rich in fibre, fat and protein, they are a nutritious year-round food for a wide range of garden birds.
Our premium suet balls each contain over 90g of high grade beef suet, wheat, peanuts and added dried mealworms, too. We guarantee your garden visitors will love this new recipe.
Suet is absolutely essential for birds, providing instant energy which is just what they need. Our Classic Suet Balls are just the job when it comes to bird feeding and are suitable for year round use, helping a wide variety of birds to survive.
Love this fact sheet – just the right length and the right level of information.
Thanks
Could you describe the female pleaser
We regularly have a couple of Greater Spotted woodpeckers but they actually never touch the sunflower hearts (which are the favourites of the finches) but love the insect flavoured pellets we buy from yourselves – see the pic!
John
We have a couple of these visit the feeders an dthey never go for the sunflower hearts but love insect flavoured pellets – see the pic!
Why aren’t I getting woodpeckers in my garden anymore? I’m putting out suet, mixed seeds and sunflower hearts but all the feeders are squirrel proof, is that why?
we had one visit last year – it was pecking at a lump of homemade bread that hyad gone hard!
We occasionally get this woodpecker and it is lovely to see. He eats the nuts from the metal net type feeder and he seems to like the sunflower hearts from the multi hole perspex feeder but I am sure in the past he has had a go at the coconut shell too. Our feeders aren’t bought squirrel proof but we do ‘doctor’ them a bit, e.g. we hang them on a long piece of copper wire or string, makes it difficult for the squirrel.
In answer to Jenny, yes if all your feeders are squirrel proof then they are almost woodpecker proof too. They could probably get into the food (maybe )but a neighbour may have easier access feeders. It’s a case of less energy to get to more food at the end of the day. Try a normal feeder with hearts and one with good quality fat balls /blocks for a few weeks. Mine go crazy for the beef dripping fat blocks and hearts when the fat runs out.
To V Maclean, the female looks the same but without the red to her neck but does still have the red rump.
The Coal Tits in my garden (Berkshire )will always prefer the black sunflower seeds over the sunflower hearts.
I have just seen one in my garden
I have woodpeckers in my garden since winter they now a baby woodpecker which parents feed at the bird table which is lovely to watch long may they stay. June 15 10.50. Berkshire. sue
Asked a simple question “ what is size of great spotted woodpecker?” Pretty elementary but can find no info on that. Saw one answering closely to its description feeding on my sunflower hearts feeder, but it was by no means ‘great’; though bigger than goldfinches, sparrows, & other common garden birds it was in fact quite small.
Any ideas if there are any feeders I can buy to allow the Greater Spotted Woodpecker to feed but not the larger birds such as the Jackdaws and Magpies that are visiting our garden.
I don’t want to scare off the Woodpecker or all the small birds that visit.
Think I’ve just spotted one