Great Spotted Woodpecker is a very common and increasing species with some 140,000 breeding
pairs throughout the UK.
It is only missing throughout the far North and West and until recently, the Isle of Man
and Ireland.
Great Spotted Woodpeckers first bred in Ireland in 2006 and the species has
rapidly spread in both Northern Ireland and the Republic.
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker on the other hand, is a much scarcer, declining species found
only in England and Wales.
About 1,500 pairs are present in the breeding season, although Lesser Spotted Woodpecker is notoriously
difficult to survey.
Telling these two species apart is simple but there is often confusion, especially in mid to
late Summer when juvenile-plumaged Great Spotted Woodpeckers visiting garden feeders can superficially
resemble Lesser Spots.
The key feature to look for to be able to confidently separate these two species is size.
Other helpful pointers are the distribution of any red markings, the distribution and shape of white
markings and their habitat and behaviour.
Both Great Spot and Lesser Spot Woodpeckers are boldly marked black and white birds which spend
much of their time on trunks and branches of trees.
Simply, Great Spotted Woodpecker is similar in size to Starling or Blackbird, whereas Lesser Spotted
Woodpecker is the size of a Sparrow.
Let's look at Lesser Spotted Woodpecker in detail first:
As mentioned, this is a truly tiny woodpecker which is shy, often found in the breeding
season foraging on the outer twigs of a tree or even lower down in scrub.
Outside of the breeding season, Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers can be found in a wider range of habitats and can turn
up in reed beds where Greater Spotted Woodpeckers are virtually never found and they will also
join up with roving tit flocks in woodland.
The first impression is of a messily marked bird, black and white forms a scruffy
chequerboard pattern on the back but there are no large areas of white which stand out.
The only red markings on adult males is the crown and nape of the neck but
adult females have no red anywhere on their bodies.
Juveniles resemble the adult males with a red crown.
Great Spotted Woodpecker is a much bigger, common, bold and noisy bird often first drawing attention
to itself with its loud, clear 'kick' call.
Found in all sorts of habitat throughout the year from woodland, hedges with trees, isolated trees,
parks and gardens, they are commonly encountered at garden feeding stations where they are
bold and aggressive.
Great Spotted Woodpeckers are also boldy marked with all ages and sexes showing large white
shoulder patches which are very visible and can be spotted even when the bird is partially hidden
by vegetation.
Likewise, all Great Spots have red undertail feathers, in adults these are scarlet and in young birds,
it is a more washed out red flush.
(But remember, Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers always have white undertails).
Adult male Great Spotted Woodpeckers have a small red patch on the nape of the neck which can be
difficult to see within the black markings, whereas females have no red head markings.
The identification problem often arises due to the fact juvenile Great Spotted Woodpeckers have
a broad red crown, potentially causing confusion with male Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers, especially as this
juvenile plumage is less familiar to many but if you are looking at a red-crowned bird, remember
to look for the presence of red undertail and white shoulder patches as that all important size.
The vast majority of reports we get of Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers visiting bird feeders, turn out on further
investigation to be young Greater Spotted Woodpeckers.
Although it is worth remembering that on rare occasions Lesser Spotted Woodpecker will visit
lucky householders' feeding stations.