Great Spotted Woodpecker
Dendrocopus major
Length 23cm

The larger and commoner of our two black and white woodpeckers. Upperparts mainly black with white patches on wings and on face. Underparts whitish except for red on vent and undertail. Male (A) only has small red patch on nape but this not always easy to see; juvenile (B) has red cap. In typical undulating flight, birds show rounded, black and white chequered wings with conspicuous white shoulder patches. In spring, male drums loudly on tree trunk to advertise territory. Excavates hole in trunk for nesting and also uses bill to probe for insect larvae in decaying wood; in winter, sometimes visits garden peanut feeders. Favours deciduous woodland and parks. Widespread and often fairly common throughout mainland Britain except the far N; absent from Ireland.