Woodpeckers of the World: Picid in Focus: Great Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos major

Tuesday, 15 February 2011

Picid in Focus: Great Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos major

This species ranges across Eurasia from Ireland and Britain eastwards to Japan. It also occurs on the Canary Islands and parts of North Africa. There are 14 races, some very distinct. It is by far the most common, widespread and familiar woodpecker in Europe. An adaptable and generalist species, it occurs in a wide range of wooded habitats, natural and man-made, from mature forests to parks and gardens. Photo of a male (note the red nape patch), Austria, by Thomas Hochebner.

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Background

Woodpeckers, the Picidae, are Piciformes, an order that includes some of the oldest avian lineages. The Piciformes probably originated about 60 million years ago in the Tertiary period and became distinct from their closest relatives some 50 million years ago. Depending upon which taxonomy is followed, and the fact that the status of some species is unclear, around 240-260 woodpecker species probably exist globally. The Picidae includes three subfamilies: Jynginae (wrynecks), Picumninae (piculets) and the Picinae, the “true woodpeckers”. In terms of size, behaviour, distribution and the habitats they use, the Picinae are a fairly diverse group of birds with six distinct tribes. They are widespread and found from sea-level to high-altitudes but absent from the Arctic, Antarctica, Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Madagascar and some other islands. Worldwide woodpeckers are usually, but not exclusively, associated with trees.