Dendrocopos Major, Great Spotted Woodpecker,
A little larger than a starling. Strongly marked in black and white with red under tail coverts and a red vent. Female is not red on head unlike male. Deeply undulating flight with some rapid wingbeats. Lives almost anywhere with large trees. The Great Spotted Woodpecker is the most common and widespread of all Woodpeckers in the UK. They are a frequent and garden visitor and can be spotted hopping along jerkily searching for food. This Woodpecker is not actually that ‘great’ and is only about the size of a starling. They are black and white with striking white shoulder patches and a bright red under tail. Males have a red patch on the nape which distinguishes them from females. Juveniles have a red crown and blotchy white shoulder patches but look quite similar to the older Woodpeckers. Their characteristic drumming noise is a good identification feature and also has the same function as a bird’s song, which is to proclaim their territory. They have long been associated with water and some people believe that the sound of a Woodpecker drumming away can indicate that rain is on its way. They strike a branch with their bill over 40 times a second to create this drumming sound! They have stiff tail feathers which they use as a prop when hopping up trees, and to assist with its grip their toes are specially arranged with two toes pointing forward and two facing backwards. These feet are called zygodactyls. Great Spotted Woodpeckers need large trees to make their nests and also like dead trees as these provide a good food source. They probe tree trunks for insects and larvae and use their long, sticky tongue to extract insects from their nests and crevices. They also eat tree sap, nuts, berries, seeds and fat in winter, and in spring they will take the eggs and young of other birds from their nests and nest boxes. Length: 22-23 cm Wingspan: 34-39 cm
Size: 5472px × 3648px
Location: Center Parcs, Penrith, Cumbria, England
Photo credit: © Michael Rawsterne / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
Keywords: ablaze, abreast, action, aeronaut, alight, attack, avian, aviation, aviator, avifauna, beak, berries, bird, birdcage birder, birdhouse, birding, breast, common, drumming, fat, feathers, flight, frequent, garden, hopping, insects, landing, nests, nuts, popular, predation, predatory, red, sticky, tongue, watching, water, widespread, wing, zygodactyl, zygodactyls
