Great Spotted Woodpecker (Birds of Germany)

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Dendrocopos major

Summary ²

The Great Spotted Woodpecker (or Greater Spotted Woodpecker), Dendrocopos major, is a bird species of the woodpecker family (Picidae). It is distributed throughout Europe and northern Asia, and usually resident year-round except in the colder parts of its range. It is not considered a threatened species by the IUCN, being widely distributed and quite common. A significant recent increase in the British population has been suggested as the cause of the recolonisation of Ireland.

Biology ³

The great spotted woodpecker feeds on seeds, invertebrates, and occasionally bird eggs and nestlings (2). It often extracts seeds from kernels by wedging them in crevices in tree bark, which act as 'anvils'; a pile of cones often builds up under these anvils, betraying their presence (2). Drumming, which acts as a territorial defence, is carried out by both sexes, usually in March and April (3). After a courtship display, both sexes help to excavate the nest in a tree (3). The chamber is typically 30 cm deep, and the oval-shaped entrance hole is around 4 m from the ground (3). From mid-May to early June between 4 and 7 white eggs are laid; the female incubates them for 16 days, after which time both parents feed the young for 18-21 days. Just one brood is produced a year (3).

Description ⁴

The great spotted woodpecker is the most common and widespread of the British woodpeckers (3). It has black and white plumage, a prominent oval-shaped white patch on each wing, a red patch under the tail; males also have a red patch on the rear of the head (2). Juveniles can be identified by their red crown (2). The main call is a sharp 'kick', which may be repeated. During spring, it can be heard drumming; this sound is produced by beating the bill on a dead branch (3).

Habitat ⁵

Found in both broadleaved and coniferous woodlands and forests, and more recently has begun to exploit gardens and parks (3).

Iucn red list assessment ⁶

Red List Category

Least Concern

Red List Criteria

Version

3.1

Year Assessed

2012

Assessor/s

BirdLife International

Reviewer/s

Butchart, S. & Symes, A.

Contributor/s

Justification

This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be increasing, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size is extremely large, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

Lifespan, longevity, and ageing ⁷

Maximum longevity: 12.7 years (wild)

Sources and Credits

(c) Vitaliy Khustochka, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://www.flickr.com/photos/8289389@N04/3380296104
Adapted by JodBot from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dendrocopos_major
(c) Wildscreen, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/6681693
(c) Wildscreen, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/6681690
(c) Wildscreen, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/6681692
(c) International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31024772
(c) Joao Pedro de Magalhaes, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://eol.org/data_objects/3209166

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