As some of you may know already, but for those who don't, here is a a quick introduction on Species Hunt.
In our community of Feathered Friends I am looking for informative posts about certain species. These posts are classified in DNA Discord channel, where we are building a library, database sorted by order. The channel is called Species Hunt - Birds. Each month a compilation post is made. Here is the last - DNA SPECIES HUNT - BIRDS - Identified & Described Species - 2022 - February. Here you can find which posts were included into last month compilation and what DNA is.
Now, I wish to contribute to the Species Hunt and today I am presenting
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Dendrocopos major
Widespread through Europe and Asia, doesn't migrate and can be found quite often in city parks and gardens, Great Spotted Woodpecker is close relative to the Syrian Woodpecker. They have many similarities, but the easiest way to distinguish one from the other is the black line starting from the base of the beak and ending at the back of the head.
For comparison you can see the below pictures and how similar both birds are. The Great Spotted here is male (the red spot on the head), while the Syrian is female (only black on the head).
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The size of the bird is about 20 to 25 cm with wingspan - 40 cm, it weighs about 75-76 grams. As you can see the black and white feathers are in perfect contrast with the red underbelly.
The flight is like a wave. The woodpecker spreads the wings then folds them and like a swimmer flies up and down.
Like the rest of the woodpeckers, the Great Spotted has strong tail to balance on the trees. Very rarely I see it on the ground. Actually it was on a fallen branch and I suspect the traces left by its strong beak was recent and bird stopped not for once there.
If you look close you may notice traces of the wood at the top of the beak.
The woodpeckers not just drill holes in the trees where they nest, but they use their strong beaks to dig insects from the bark. The great spotted woodpecker is omnivorous. The diet includes ants, spiders as well as nuts and conifer seeds, sometimes small tits and eggs. I read somewhere, that by drumming the woodpecker finds the nests of the blue tits and feeds on their chicks. On the other hand the woodpecker is hunted by the sparrowhawk.
I don't know if it is normal behaviour or just coincidence the bird to try to hide from me as I was getting close.
These photos I took some days ago and here is an older photo of the female great spotted woodpecker.
As you can see it has only black cap. Both male and female make the nest where between 4 and 7 eggs are laid, one brood in April - June. Hatchlings are fed for about 20 days and leave the nest, but the parents keep on feeding them for another three or four weeks. The fledglings has a red spot on top of their heads which later after molting will be changed to black.
Although it is common bird, I encounter the great spotted the least in our park. Hopefully this year I may see the new generation.
Thank you for viewing.
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