# Great Spotted Woodpecker (*Dendrocopos major*)

> The great spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) is a striking black-and-white bird with a red patch beneath the tail, found in woodlands and parks across Eurasia and North Africa. About 24 cm long and weighing only 70 to 100 g, it is best known for its rapid drumming on tree trunks. It feeds on insects, larvae, and seeds, and can live up to eleven years in the wild.

- **Category:** Bird
- **Conservation status (IUCN):** Least Concern
- **Range:** Great spotted woodpecker across Eurasia from Britain to Japan and North Africa in woodland and parks.
- **Canonical page:** https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/woodpecker/
- **Last reviewed:** 2026-07-16

## Scientific classification

- **Kingdom:** Animalia
- **Phylum:** Chordata
- **Class:** Aves
- **Order:** Piciformes
- **Family:** Picidae
- **Genus:** Dendrocopos

## Facts at a glance

| Attribute | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Scientific name | Dendrocopos major |
| Diet | Carnivore — insects, larvae, seeds, and nestlings |
| Habitat | Woodlands and parks across Eurasia and North Africa |
| Lifespan | 8–11 years in the wild |
| Weight | 70–100 g (0.07–0.1 kg) |
| Top speed | Up to 24 km/h (15 mph) in undulating flight |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |

## Drumming and communication

The great spotted woodpecker is famous for its drumming — a rapid burst of hammering against a dead branch or trunk that can reach around ten to twenty strikes in less than a second. Unlike pecking for food, drumming is a form of communication used to claim territory and attract a mate, ringing out most often in late winter and spring. Both sexes drum, and the sound can carry a long way through quiet woodland. It is one of the defining sounds of a European forest in early spring.

## Feeding and foraging

This woodpecker uses its powerful, chisel-like bill to excavate insects and grubs from beneath tree bark and rotten wood. Its long, sticky tongue can reach deep into crevices to extract larvae, while its stiff tail feathers brace it upright against the trunk. In autumn and winter it turns increasingly to seeds and nuts, often wedging a pine cone into a bark crevice — a favoured spot known as an anvil — to hammer it open. It will also raid nest boxes and take the eggs and chicks of smaller birds.

## How it avoids brain injury

Hammering into solid wood thousands of times a day generates forces that would concuss most animals, yet the woodpecker is remarkably well protected. Its skull has spongy, shock-absorbing bone, and a specialised bone structure called the hyoid wraps around the skull to help cushion impacts. The brain is small, tightly packed, and oriented to spread the force of each blow. These adaptations let the bird drum and excavate without harming itself.

## Nesting and breeding

Great spotted woodpeckers excavate a fresh nest hole each spring, chiselling a neat cavity into a tree trunk over one to three weeks. The female lays a clutch of around four to seven white eggs, which both parents incubate before feeding the noisy chicks. Young birds fledge after roughly three weeks and can be recognised by a full red cap, which they lose as they mature. The abandoned nest holes later provide shelter for other birds and small mammals.

## Appearance and identification

About the size of a blackbird, the great spotted woodpecker has bold black-and-white plumage, large white shoulder patches, and a crimson patch under the tail. Males also carry a small red patch on the back of the head, which females lack, while juveniles have an entirely red crown. Its flight is distinctively undulating, rising and dipping as it bounds between trees at up to 24 km/h (15 mph). This combination makes it one of the most recognisable woodland birds in its range.

## Range and status

The species is widespread across the woodlands, parks, and gardens of Eurasia and North Africa, and it readily visits garden feeders in winter. It has adapted well to human-altered landscapes and its population is stable or increasing across much of its range. The IUCN lists it as Least Concern, and wild birds can live up to eleven years. Mature woodland with plenty of dead timber is its ideal habitat.

## Frequently asked questions

### Why do woodpeckers drum on trees?

Drumming is mainly a form of communication, not feeding. Woodpeckers hammer rapidly on resonant dead wood to advertise their territory and attract a mate, especially in late winter and spring.

### How do woodpeckers not get concussed?

Woodpeckers have spongy, shock-absorbing skull bone and a specialised hyoid bone structure that wraps around the skull to cushion impacts. Their small, tightly packed brain also helps spread the force of each blow.

### What do great spotted woodpeckers eat?

They eat mainly insects and larvae dug from bark and dead wood, extracted with a long, sticky tongue. In winter they switch to seeds and nuts, and they will also take the eggs and chicks of other birds.

### How can you tell a male great spotted woodpecker from a female?

Males have a small red patch on the back of the head, which females lack. Juveniles of both sexes have a full red crown that they lose as they mature.

### How long do great spotted woodpeckers live?

In the wild they typically live around eight to eleven years. They are widespread and their numbers are stable, so the IUCN lists them as Least Concern.

### Do great spotted woodpeckers visit garden feeders?

Yes, especially in autumn and winter, when they are drawn to peanuts, fat, and seeds. They are a familiar and welcome sight at garden feeding stations across their range.

## Sources

- [IUCN Red List — Dendrocopos major.](https://www.iucnredlist.org/search?query=Dendrocopos%20major&searchType=species)
- [Animal Diversity Web — Dendrocopos major. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology.](https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Dendrocopos_major/)

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Source: Global Animal Guide (https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/woodpecker/). Licensed CC BY-NC 4.0 — free for non-commercial reuse with attribution.