Woodpeckers

There are six species of European woodpeckers in the genus Dendrocopos. They are all visibly pied, appearing largely black and white, with splashes of red . Two species are found in Great Britain, namely the Great Spotted Woodpecker D. major; and the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, D.minor. The former is now common and is is frequently seen coming to bird feeders in gardens, whilst the latter is rare and declining alarmingly.

Great Spotted Woodpeckers are often seen in gardens coming to peanut feeders
(Click on the image to locate the picture source)

In continental Europe there are also the Syrian D. syriacus; the Middle Spotted D. medius; and the White-backed D. leucotos. I have seen all these on one occasion only, during a Travelling Naturalist trip to Romania.

Being eponymously arboreal in habitat, woodpeckers are often most easily seen during winter when the trees are bare of their leaves. This winter, whilst walking through the woods of Prater in Vienna, I was delighted to find a few Middle Spotted Woodpeckers.

My pictures are not great, but they serve to pinpoint the main identification features.

Middle Spotted Woodpecker, Prater, Vienna
Note the red crown (Great Spotted has black, see above); the black "chin strap" does not extend back to the nape; the lower underparts are a more rosy-pink than the red of the Great Spotted; and the flanks are heavily streaked

A rear view which clearly shows the red crown