- Dendrocopos major
Identification
Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major)
Range: One of the most widespread and abundant of the spotted woodpeckers, breeds throughout Britain, most of Scandinavia except the far north and the highest mountains, throughout Europe from Iberia (although scarce in southern Spain) to northern Greece and east to Kamchatka, Sakhalin, Japan, Korea and China. Also breeds on the Canary Islands, Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily and isolated populations in the Caucasus and in parts of southern Greece and northern Turkey, in Morocco and northern parts of Algeria and Tunisia. Further east the southern limits of range are reached in north-east India, Vietnam and Hainan. Resident throughout range but may be irruptive in the north. Vagrants recorded in Iceland, the Faroes and Ireland.
Habitat: Deciduous, coniferous or preferably mixed woodland and forest, parks and orchards, sometimes, especially in winter, in large gardens.
Subspecies: About 14 races are recognised differing slightly in overall size, bill size and colour of underparts. However there is much intergradation in mainland races and also variation within races. Typically northern races are larger with shorter, stouter bills and whiter underparts. North African races mauritanus and numidus are cream below with a bold chest band, black at the sides and red in the centre. Two Canarian races, canariensis from Tenerife, creamy-buff below and thanneri from Gran Canaria more greyish.
Photographed: Hertfordshire, England.
Bird Song
<flashmp3>Dendrocopos major (song).mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program
