Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Piciformes
Family: Picidae
Sometimes referred to as the 'pied woodpecker', this is the member of the woodpecker family seen most frequently in Wales, although several others are also to be found here. The large white wing patches distinguish the greater spotted woodpecker from the 'barred' or lesser spotted woodpecker, which is a much smaller bird.
The scarlet nape patch shows that the bird in the picture is a male: the female has no red on her nape.
These are mainly woodland birds, but they also visit gardens and, while insects are their main food source, they can often be seen taking nuts from bird-feeders.
Nesting within holes in trees, great spotted woodpeckers produce between four and seven eggs. The young all have red crowns but, unlike the lesser spotted woodpeckers, they lose this feature when they mature.
Two of this bird's relatives to look out for in Britain are the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos minor) and the Green Woodpecker (Picus viridis). Green Woodpeckers are more plentiful in southern England and on the eastern side of Wales are increasingly rare further west and north..
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