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A good time to start talking about the great spotted woodpeckers. In February the males already start dividing territories between themselves, and proclaining this. The loud drumming is most active in April, in order to announce the protection of the territory held as one’s own, and letting one’s presence be known in order to find a mate.

 

On searching for insects only a slow and quiet tapping is heard from the forest. At cones they pick quite silently.  

 

The great spotted woodpecker is our best known, most widely spread and also most numerous woodpecker. There is a little slip in the name – the largest of the woodpeckers is the white-backed woodpecker (whether this species was not known at the time of naming, or they were not measured and weighed history does not tell). The length of the great spotted woodpecker is about a quarter of a metre, weight up to 100 grams.

 

The back plumage of our hero of the day is black, clearly defined, and the large white ”shoulder patches” in the upper part at once catch attention. The white chest seems a little soiled and there are no bands on the white belly. The undertail feathers are brightly red, the tail with a sharp tip and stiff feathers is useful as support against the tree trunk during tapping.

 

The great spotted woodpecker has black feathers on the crown of the head, with a bright patch on the forehead.

 

We will now turn to identifying the birds on the basis of their characteristics; pay attention to Arne’s photos below.

 

We can identify the male bird from the bright red patch at the nape; the head plumage of an adult female bird is all black.

 

The iris of adult birds is red, that of young birds brown. The legs, with strong and sharp talons, of all are greenish-grey.

 

The winter numbers fluctuate between 50 and 300 thousand; it depends on the so called ”cone years”; this year there are enough cones.

 

See great spotted woodpecker observations: LINK

 

Great spotted woodpecker

 

Food rivalry

 

Female birds, to the left grey woodpecker – they have no red feathers on the head.