knock, knock. it's me, on your tree. drumming.
Great spotted woodpecker says
Bird 28 of 30 · video, 45:22
Great spotted woodpecker
Dendrocopos major
A black, white and red drummer of old trees, easiest to spot in winter, and only the male has the crimson nape.
- Medium, 78.7 g
- Stays all year
- Tree hole
- In a tree
- On a feeder or bird table
About the great spotted woodpecker
Marks and dots
Tap a numbered dot, or a name in the list.
Only the male has the stunning flash of crimson at the nape.
Rapidly repeated blows of the bill against a trunk make the drumming.
The female lacks the crimson at the nape.
From egg to adult
-
Egg
Eggsup to 7 eggs video, BTO agrees
Hatch after16 days video, BTO agrees
-
Chick in the nest
In the nest for21 days video, BTO agrees
-
Young bird
The young leave the nest at about three weeks old.
Adult
Black, white and red; male has a crimson nape
Broods a year1 brood video, BTO agrees
BTO averages: 14 days incubating the eggs, then 22 days in the nest. Averages across nest records, so the figures above can differ a little.
At the table
- insects under bark (BTO)
The video does not say what it eats. BTO says its main food is insects hidden under the bark of dead wood, plus tree seeds, and sometimes the eggs and young of other birds.
This page mentions bird tables. Since April 2026 the RSPB and the BTO advise against them, and say to feed seeds and peanuts only from November to April. What changed, and why.
Through the year
Great spotted woodpecker: around Jan to Dec; easier to see when trees are bare, Dec to Feb; first eggs laid 16 Apr to 22 May, average 4 May (BTO); first chicks leave the nest 20 May to 1 Jul (worked out from BTO). Winter is read as December to February.
What to know about the great spotted woodpecker
Eight short notes in our own words. Each chip says what the note stands on, and links to its row in the table below.
What to look for
Black, white and red. BTO describes it as striking. The video's clue is the sound: the first sign is a vibrating, echoing drum produced by rapid blows of the bill on a trunk.
Male and female
Males and females are very similar, but only the male has a stunning flash of crimson at the nape of the neck.
Song and call
The drumming is very distinctive and can be heard over a considerable distance.
Nest
Capable of drilling holes in telegraph poles, but for nesting it prefers soft or decaying trees. A single brood, of up to seven chicks.
Feeding
The video does not say what it eats. BTO says its main food is insects hidden under the bark of dead wood, plus tree seeds, and sometimes the eggs and young of other birds.
Staying or leaving
Visible all year round, but much easier to see in winter, when the trees are bare.
In the garden
Few people are lucky enough to see one in their garden, but with plenty of trees nearby it is a possibility. It depends on old trees for food and nesting sites, and is as happy in conifers as in broadleaf plantations.
Sources and checks
Where every fact about the great spotted woodpecker came from
14 claims about the great spotted woodpecker: 6 checked, 5 from the video only,0 differ, 3 from a source only. How the grades work
| Claim, in our words | Video time | Grade | What the source says |
|---|---|---|---|
| The great spotted woodpecker has striking black, white and red plumage. | 45:22 | checked | BTO, read 2026-10-05BTO describes striking black, white and red plumage. |
| Males and females are very similar, but only the male has a stunning flash of crimson at the nape. | 46:03 | video only | |
| The first sign is often a vibrating, echoing drumming made by rapidly repeated blows of the bill against a tree trunk. | 45:46 | checked | BTO, read 2026-10-05BTO says its characteristic drumming display can be heard in woodlands. |
| The sound is very distinctive and can be heard over a considerable distance. | 45:57 | video only | |
| BTO says the great spotted woodpecker's main food is insects hidden under bark in dead wood, with tree seeds and the eggs and young of other birds in its diet too. | source only | source only | BTO, read 2026-10-05BTO's introduction to the species. |
| Few people are lucky enough to see one in their garden; it relies on old trees for food and nest sites, and is equally at home in coniferous and broadleaf plantations. | 45:22 | video only | |
| These birds are visible all year round, but much easier to see in winter when the trees are bare. | 46:09 | video only | |
| A great spotted woodpecker can drill holes in telegraph poles, but for nesting it prefers soft or decaying trees. | 46:16 | video only | |
| Only a single brood a year.video: 1 brood | 46:26 | checked | BTO, read 2026-10-05: 1 brood (BTO typical)inside BTO's typical range of 1 |
| As many as seven chicks.video: up to 7 eggs | 46:29 | checked | BTO, read 2026-10-05: 4–6 eggs (BTO typical)up to 7 sits between BTO's typical top (6) and the most BTO records (9) |
| The eggs hatch after 16 days.video: 16 days | 46:32 | checked | BTO, read 2026-10-05: 14–16 days (BTO typical)inside BTO's typical range of 14–16 |
| The young birds leave the nest when they are three weeks old.video: 21 days | 46:35 | checked | BTO, read 2026-10-05: 19.5–23.5 days (BTO typical)inside BTO's typical range of 19.5–23.5 |
| Adult weight, from ringing records: 78.7 g, adult average. | source only | source only | BTO, read 2026-10-05: 78.7 g, adult average |
| Timing of the first clutch: first eggs laid around 4 May (16 Apr-22 May). | source only | source only | BTO, read 2026-10-05: first eggs laid around 4 May (16 Apr-22 May) |
Written in our own words after “British Birds in your Garden” by The Great British Channel, where the great spotted woodpecker starts at 45:22.Numbers are checked against the BTO's page for the great spotted woodpecker, read on 5 October 2026. We are not connected to the channel or to the BTO.
More birbs: 30 so far, and more to come
The coins down the right of the screen are all 30. Tap one to go to that bird.