Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopus major) foraging on birch trunk, Cairngorms National Park, Scotland, UK, December. Great spotted woodpeckers are black and white with white shoulder patches and a distinctive bright red tail. Despite its name, the great spotted woodpecker is not that big at only about the size of a starling. Great Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos major There are just two black and white woodpeckers to be found in Britain, so identification is relatively straightforward. The Great spotted woodpecker is the most common of only three species of woodpecker in the UK, the other two being the Lesser spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopus minor) and the Green woodpecker (Picus viridus).It is present all year round, apart from in extreme northern parts of Scotland, and is famed for its rapid drumming on the sides of trees. Woodpeckers are small to large birds, mostly boldly-patterned, sharing features such as a chisel-like bill, round head, long tongue, stiff tail and two toes facing forwards and two … The Hertfordshire Great Spotted Woodpecker studies. Similar birds: Only two species of black and white woodpeckers occur in the UK - the great spotted and lesser spotted.In spring and summer, we often receive messages from people who are sure they have a middle spotted woodpecker in their garden.. Great spotted woodpeckers in the garden. The Great Spotted Woodpecker is 22-23 cm long, with a 34-39 cm wingspan. Great spotted woodpecker. One of the main characteristics is the red underneath the tail. Their undulating flight path is a characteristic feature, and very obvious once witnessed. This confusion arises when young great spotted woodpeckers leave the nest. Of these, three species of woodpecker and one species of wryneck are found in the UK. It nests in holes that it excavates in trees in broadleaved woodlands, large parks and gardens. The great spotted woodpecker is a medium-sized woodpecker. Of these, three species of woodpecker and one species of wryneck are found in the UK. 2020VISION Book Plate. IN THE GARDEN, it's possible to attract these birds by providing peanuts and suet balls in hanging feeders. Mature broadleaved woodland is prime habitat, but great spotted woodpeckers can occur in coniferous woodland and parks or gardens with plenty of mature trees. The one most likely to be seen is the great spotted woodpecker, which is much bigger (about the size of a blackbird), and has a red undertail and a large patch of white on its shoulder.The male has a distinctive red patch on the back of its head and young birds have a red crown. This is not found on the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. Great Spotted Woodpeckers, as here, readily attend nut feeders and allow good close-up views. Great spotted woodpeckers can be found across mainland Britain, but are limited to the west of Ireland. In fact, it's more and more common to find great spotted woodpeckers feeding from peanut and suet feeders. Males have a crimson spot on the nape, which is absent in females and juvenile birds. Woodpeckers are small to large birds, mostly boldly-patterned, sharing features such as a chisel-like bill, round head, long tongue, stiff tail and two toes facing forwards and two back to give a better grip on rounded branches. Juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker (Trumpington, Cambridgeshire, 28 July 2009). Great Spotted Woodpeckers can knock on wood 40 times a second. Great spotted woodpeckers and lesser spotted woodpeckers are primarily woodland birds that drum quite a lot from late-winter through to mid- or late-spring, whilst green woodpeckers prefer more open places with scattered trees, and hardly drum at all. Great spotted woodpeckers will take to nest boxes in gardens and will also come to bird tables. Ken and Linda Smith’s studies of breeding Great Spotted Woodpeckers were carried out between 1981 and 2016.