The Great Spotted Woodpecker is one of the most common and widespread woodpeckers across Europe and Asia. It is easily recognized by its striking plumage: a black upper body, white patches on the wings and shoulders, and a white belly. The lower belly and flanks are a vivid red. Adult males have a small red patch on the nape, while females lack this marking. The woodpecker’s beak is long and sturdy, perfect for chiseling into tree bark to search for insects and larvae or to create nesting cavities. Its calls include a sharp, distinctive "kik" and the characteristic drumming sound produced by rapidly pecking wood.

Scientific Classification:

• Kingdom: Animalia
• Phylum: Chordata
• Class: Aves
• Order: Piciformes
• Family: Picidae
• Genus: Dendrocopos
• Species: Dendrocopos major

Dimensions and Weight: The Great Spotted Woodpecker measures between 20 and 24 cm in length, with a wingspan of 34 to 39 cm. Adults weigh between 70 and 100 grams, making it a medium-sized bird compared to other woodpeckers.

Habitat: This woodpecker is highly adaptable, inhabiting a wide range of environments, from deciduous and mixed forests to coniferous woodlands, as well as parks and gardens. It prefers areas with mature trees, where it can find abundant food and cavities for nesting. It is distributed across much of Europe and temperate Asia, extending as far as Siberia. In winter, it often visits bird feeders near human habitation.

Behavior and Habits: The Great Spotted Woodpecker is known for its rhythmic drumming on tree trunks, used to mark territory and attract mates. Its diet consists mainly of insects, larvae, and other invertebrates hidden under tree bark, but in autumn and winter, it also consumes seeds, nuts, and fruits. It is particularly skilled at boring into wood, using its beak like a chisel to search for food and to excavate nesting sites. The breeding season runs from April to July, during which the female lays 4 to 7 eggs in a nest cavity carved into a tree.

Dangers, Enemies, and Threats: The Great Spotted Woodpecker has few natural predators, though its eggs and chicks can fall prey to birds of prey, martens, or squirrels. Habitat loss, particularly of mature trees needed for nesting, poses a threat to the species in some regions. However, due to its adaptability to various environments, including urban parks, the Great Spotted Woodpecker has maintained a stable population.

Protected or Endangered Species: The Great Spotted Woodpecker is not considered a threatened species, and its population is generally healthy across its range. However, in some countries, it is protected by wildlife legislation that safeguards its nesting habitats. Conservation efforts aim to preserve mature forest environments, which are essential for its survival.

References__________________________________________________________________________

Peck HL, Pringle HE, Marshall HH, Owens IP, Lord AM. Experimental evidence of impacts of an invasive parakeet on foraging behavior of native birds. Behav Ecol. 2014 May;25(3):582-590. doi: 10.1093/beheco/aru025. 

Abstract. Resource competition is one potential behavioral mechanism by which invasive species can impact native species, but detecting this competition can be difficult due to the interactions that variable environmental conditions can have on species behavior. This is particularly the case in urban habitats where the disturbed environment can alter natural behavior from that in undisturbed habitats. The rose-ringed parakeet (Psittacula krameri), is an increasingly common invasive species, predominantly associated with large urban centers. Using an experimental approach, we tested the behavioral responses of native garden birds in response to the presence of a rose-ringed parakeet versus the presence of a similarly sized and dominant native bird, the great spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos major). Parakeet presence significantly reduced feeding rates and increased vigilance among native birds compared with our control treatments. Of visits made by native birds in the presence of a parakeet, feeding was more likely to occur in sites within the parakeet range compared with sites outside, suggesting some habituation of native birds has occurred following prior exposure to parakeets but overall foraging behavior is still disrupted. The results of our study suggest that nonnative species can have complex and subtle impacts on native fauna and show that a nonnative competitor can impact native species simply through their presence near resources.

Wilkinson V, Fernandez JR, Núñez A, Macgregor SK, John SK, Dallman TJ, Cunningham AA, de Pinna EM, Lawson B. Novel Salmonella Variant Associated with Mortality in Two Great Spotted Woodpeckers (Dendrocopos major). J Wildl Dis. 2019 Oct;55(4):874-878. 

Abstract. Two adult Great Spotted Woodpeckers (Dendrocopos major) from separate sites in Great Britain were examined postmortem in 2013 and 2016. A Salmonella sp. was isolated from multiple tissues in both birds. Histopathology and immunohistochemistry confirmed disseminated salmonellosis. Whole-genome sequencing and biochemical analyses putatively identified both isolates as a novel variant of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Hessarek (S. Hessarek). Salmonellosis has seldom been reported in Piciformes, and never before in association with S. Hessarek infection. These findings, therefore, add to current knowledge regarding the range of wild bird species susceptible to this Salmonella serovar, and our understanding of the pathogens affecting Great Spotted Woodpeckers, in particular.

Wang L, Zhang H, Fan Y. Comparative study of the mechanical properties, micro-structure, and composition of the cranial and beak bones of the great spotted woodpecker and the lark bird. Sci China Life Sci. 2011 Nov;54(11):1036-41. doi: 10.1007/s11427-011-4242-2. 

Abstract. Woodpeckers are well able to resist head injury during repeated high speed impacts at 6-7 m s⁻¹ with decelerations up to 1000 g. This study was designed to compare the mechanical properties, microstructures and compositions of cranial bone and beak bone of great spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) and the Mongolian sky lark (Melanocorypha mongolica). Microstructures were observed using micro-computed tomography and scanning electron microscopy and their compositions were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. Under high stress, the cranial bone and the beak of the woodpecker exhibited distinctive mechanical features, which were associated with differences in micro-structure and composition, compared with those of the lark. Evolutionary optimization of bone micro-structure has enabled functional adaptation to the woodpecker's specific lifestyle. Its characteristic micro-structure efficiently avoids head impact injury and may provide potential clues to the prevention of brain injury using bio-inspired designs of shock-absorbing materials.

Dylewski Ł, Yosef R, Myczko Ł. Difference on cone size preferences between two coniferous species by Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major). PeerJ. 2017 May 31;5:e3288. doi: 10.7717/peerj.3288. 

Abstract. The number of species that specialize in pre-dispersal seed predation is relatively small. Examples of specialized pre-dispersal seed predators adapted to feeding on closed cones include vertebrate species like Crossbills, Squirrels, Nutcrackers and Woodpeckers. Seed predation selects against certain phenotypic features of cones and favors another phenotypic features. In this study, we document preferences of the Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) for specific traits in the cones of Norway spruce (Picea abies) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris). We found that the Great Spotted Woodpecker prefers to feed on medium sized Norway spruce cones. The results suggest a disruptive selection that favors the extreme cone lengths in Norway spruce. In Scots pine, the woodpeckers avoided cones with large apophyses. Further, the selectivity for the specific characteristics of the cones is probably related to the configuration of the anvil, a place at which woodpeckers extract seeds from the cones. We think that the Great Spotted Woodpecker preferences in relation to the morphological characteristics of cones are a key to the design of the anvil in order to maximize the use of it as a tool for processing cones of both the Norway spruce and the Scots pine.