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Female great spotted woodpecker on tree stump

Great spotted woodpecker

Great spotted woodpeckers are the most widespread and numerous woodpecker in the UK. They have a large range covering almost the entire Palearctic from Britain in the west to Japan in the east and reaching North Africa and the Canary Islands in the south-west. They are not found in Ireland or the far north of Scotland.

Scientific name: Dendrocopos major

Rank: Species

Common names:

Greater spotted woodpecker

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Distribution

Map showing the distribution of the Great spotted woodpecker taxa

Species range provided by WWF's Wildfinder.

The Great spotted woodpecker can be found in a number of locations including: Asia, China, Europe, Mediterranean, Russia, United Kingdom, Wales, Ynys-hir nature reserve. Find out more about these places and what else lives there.

Habitats

The following habitats are found across the Great spotted woodpecker distribution range. Find out more about these environments, what it takes to live there and what else inhabits them.

Behaviours

Discover what these behaviours are and how different plants and animals use them.

Additional data source: Animal Diversity Web

Conservation Status

Least Concern

  1. EX - Extinct
  2. EW
  3. CR - Threatened
  4. EN - Threatened
  5. VU - Threatened
  6. NT
  7. LC - Least concern

Year assessed: 2009

Classified by: IUCN 3.1

About

The Great Spotted Woodpecker (or Greater Spotted Woodpecker), Dendrocopos major, is a bird species of the woodpecker family (Picidae). It is distributed throughout Europe and northern Asia, and usually resident year-round except in the colder parts of its range. It is not considered a threatened species by the IUCN, being widely distributed and quite common. A significant recent increase in the British population has been suggested as the cause of the recolonisation of Ireland.

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Classification

  1. Life
  2. Animals
  3. Vertebrates
  4. Birds
  5. Piciformes
  6. Woodpeckers
  7. Dendrocopos
  8. Great spotted woodpecker

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