Dendrocopos major
About
Despite its name, the Great Spotted Woodpecker is a rather small but very beautiful bird. It is a very common species found everywhere from Western Europe to East Asia and parts of North Africa. Like other woodpeckers such as Picus viridis it lives in cities as well as in the deep forest, hammering away on every tree that has insects living inside of it.
It is not uncommon to also have Great Spotted Woodpeckers destroy "insect hotels" on balconys and terraces in search of the inhabitants (see Osmia cornuta for information on providing nesting space for bees especially). This can be prevented by installing some metal around the entrance, for example on bigger boxes for bumblebees. These birds will also hack away on brittle wood on houses and garden huts if they hear or see insects getting inside and feel like hunting them.
The Great Spotted Woodpecker is an omnivore, it will also feed on seeds and nuts when it can't find any insects and spiders.
