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ForestCavity nestSmall · 20 g
What the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker sounds like
ID tip
This is the smallest European woodpecker, with adults being 14 to 16.5 cm (5.5 to 6.5 in) long with a wing span of 24 to 29 cm (9.4 to 11.4 in) and weighing 17 to 25 g (0.60 to 0.88 oz). A sample of 50 lesser spotted woodpeckers in Great Britain averaged 19.8 g (0.70 oz) in body mass. From its small size and its habit of spending most of its time in the tops of tall trees in woods and parks, this little woodpecker is often overlooked, but if sighted on a trunk it may at once be identified by the broad barring on the wings and narrower bars across the lower back.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
When to see the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
One bar for each month. Filled bars are the 10 months with records; pale bars are months with none. The wide bar is April, the month with the most records.
Where to see the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
The map shades 50 countries with regular records, and 2 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.
Recorded as a rare visitor in Liechtenstein, Andorra.
About the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
The lesser spotted woodpecker is a member of the woodpecker family Picidae. It was formerly assigned to the genus Dendrocopos. Some taxonomic authorities continue to list the species there.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Easily confused with
Ladder-backed WoodpeckerDryobates scalarisThe ladder-backed woodpecker is a small woodpecker about 16.5 to 19 cm (6½ to 7½ inches) in length.
Nuttall's WoodpeckerDryobates nuttalliiNuttall's woodpecker has striped black and white patterned wings and tail feathers with white.
Crimson-naped WoodpeckerDryobates cathphariusThe mantle, back and wings are black, with some white spotting and light barring on the wings and one larger white patch.
Side by side: Downy Woodpecker vs Lesser Spotted Woodpecker · Lesser Spotted Woodpecker vs Nuttall's Woodpecker · Ladder-backed Woodpecker vs Lesser Spotted Woodpecker · Crimson-naped Woodpecker vs Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
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