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Greater-spotted Woodpecker(Mórchnagaire breac)

Dendrocopos major

Birdmediumdiurnal

Identification Tips

  • 1Black and white plumage with bright red under-tail
  • 2Males have red patch on back of head
  • 3Undulating flight pattern
  • 4Clinging to tree trunks and branches
  • 5Chisel-like bill for drumming and foraging

Similar Species

Jay
Jay

Woodpeckers cling to trunks vertically; jays are more colourful with a pink body

Description

A relatively recent colonist to Ireland, first breeding in 2008. Now spreading and increasingly recorded on camera traps in wooded areas.

Habitat

woodlandparkland

Further Reading