In the UK, we have three species of true woodpeckers and one distant cousin from Africa that can be seen more commonly nowadays. Woodpeckers are fascinating and beautiful birds that many of us might have heard drumming away in woodlands or feeding on nuts from our bird feeders.
Now let’s meet the three woodpecker species from the Picinae subfamily that can be found in the UK: the great spotted woodpecker, the lesser spotted woodpecker and the green woodpecker.
Firstly, the well-known Great spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) should be noted. This species has recently been attracted to our gardens with bird feeders. Great spotted woodpeckers have a black cap, white cheeks with black lines underneath, and a red patch on their underbelly.
Male birds have a red patch on the back of their head. However, females and juveniles do not have this feature. Great spotted woodpeckers have thick and powerful beaks, and their wings are black with white spots. They are slightly smaller than a blackbird on average.
Great spotted woodpeckers feed on insects, using their powerful beaks to hammer holes in tree bark and extract beetle larvae with long, flexible tongues. In spring, they also eat caterpillars, adult beetles, spiders, and smaller birds’ chicks and eggs. Nuts and seeds are also an important food source, particularly in winter.
The beak of the great spotted woodpecker plays a crucial role in its breeding behaviour. Male woodpeckers use it to drum against dead trees, making a loud sound that claims their territory and warns off potential rivals. Both male and female woodpeckers use their beaks to dig a nesting cavity inside a tree. Once the cavity is ready, they lay four to six eggs during March and April. After about two weeks of incubation, the eggs hatch, and the chicks spend just over three weeks inside the nest before they fly out.
The Great Spotted woodpecker can be found throughout England, Scotland and Wales, primarily in broad-leaved woodland, where Birch trees are a favourite. However, they can also be found in coniferous forests with mature trees.
The Lesser spotted woodpecker (Dryobates minor) is a significantly smaller bird than its cousin and is the same size as a house sparrow. They have a short but powerful beak and black and white head, black wings with white bars on the back, and a white breast. The males also share the red cap on the back of their heads. Lesser spotted woodpeckers feed primarily on insects and invertebrates. Their strong beaks allow them to peck into dead and rotting wood and eat the beetles’ larvae living within. They also take aphids and other insects from branches and tree trunks.
During nesting time, lesser-spotted woodpeckers drum on trees to declare their territory and warn off rivals, similar to their larger cousins. They raise their chicks in holes within old trees, although other animals or birds may have created the holes. Typically, they lay around four to six eggs, which hatch after approximately two weeks. The chicks remain in the nest for roughly three weeks before they are ready to fledge.
The lesser spotted woodpecker is one of the fastest-declining woodland bird species in the UK.
Unlike the other woodpeckers in the UK, the Picus viridis, commonly known as the Green woodpecker, is not black and white but green. The Green woodpecker also differs from its cousins as both males and females have a red cap, but males have a red streak below their cheeks, which is the best way to identify them. The green woodpecker is unmistakable. Its wings are dark green, with a paler breast and a yellow rump that is evident in flight.
Green woodpeckers feed primarily on ants, searching for them amongst the grass. It catches the insects by probing the ground with its powerful beak and sucking them up with its long, sticky tongue. They will take other invertebrates they find in the grass and soil.
Like the other woodpeckers in the UK, the green nests in holes in trees that both males and females excavate together using their powerful beaks to chip into the wood, often over a few weeks. Then, four to six eggs are laid, which hatch after around three weeks. The chicks will fledge after a similar period. Green woodpeckers have a distinctive dipping flight pattern, and their call, which sounds like laughing, is known as a yaffle.
Woodpeckers are native to Britain, and all species of woodpeckers are present in the country, including the green woodpecker drum. Contrary to the earlier belief that woodpeckers have shock-absorbing tissues between their beaks and skulls, scientists have recently discovered that the head and beak of a woodpecker remain solid. When a woodpecker drills its beak into a tree, it resembles a nail hammered into a surface. Despite their high impact rate, which is nine times higher than a human’s concussion level, woodpeckers do not suffer brain damage due to their drumming because of the position and size of their brain.
Both male and female woodpeckers drum, but males do so mainly between January and June to establish territories and warn off other males. Woodpeckers are caring parents; both take turns incubating their eggs and keeping their young ones warm before they fledge. They continue to feed their fledglings for the first one to two weeks after they leave the nest.
The lesser spotted woodpecker population has been sharply declining lately, while the significant spotted woodpecker population has been rising, mainly due to their adaptation to garden feeders. However, the high death rate of young, great spotted woodpeckers is a concern because they fly into glass patios or sliding doors. The significant spotted woodpecker population has increased by more than 300% since the 1970s, possibly due to the increased dead wood caused by Dutch elm disease and food availability in gardens.
The great spotted woodpecker is also responsible for the decline of the lesser spotted woodpecker, as they prey on their smaller cousins. They also prey on Marsh and Willow tits and are cited as a reason for their decline too. Although some books and bird experts claim that the UK has four native woodpecker species, the Wryneck species has become extinct as a breeding bird in the country.
It is known as the Eurasian Wryneck and has the same Latin name. Wrynecks have mottled brown and grey colouring and are known for their distinctive behaviour of twisting and turning their necks, which mimics a snake when they feel threatened.
Further Reading
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In the UK, we have three species of true woodpeckers and one distant cousin from Africa that can be seen more commonly nowadays. Woodpeckers are fascinating and beautiful birds that many of us might have heard drumming away in woodlands or feeding on nuts from our bird feeders.