Great Spotted Woodpecker

The great spotted woodpecker is a medium-sized woodpecker with pied black and white plumage and a red patch on the lower belly; males and young birds also have red markings on the neck or head. An adult is 20–24 centimetres long, weighs 70–98 grams and has a wingspan of 34–39 centimetres. The upperparts are glossy blue-black with white on the sides of the face and neck and a large white shoulder patch, the flight feathers and tail are barred black and white, and the bill is slate-black with a deep red eye. (Wikipedia, general species account)

The species is found across the Palearctic including parts of North Africa. Across most of its range it is resident, though in the north some birds migrate if the conifer cone crop fails, and some individuals wander, leading to the recolonisation of Ireland in the 2000s. Authors recognise between 14 and nearly 30 subspecies, because changes across the range are clinal; mitochondrial DNA suggests the Caspian, Japanese and Chinese forms may each merit full species status. (Wikipedia, general species account)