There are certain differences between the Spotted Woodpecker and the Great Spotted Woodpecker in terms of appearance, living habits, distribution area, and habitat. The specific differences are explained in detail on the card surface.

Here are the details: Spotted Woodpecker: This is a variegated woodpecker with a black back, white shoulders, red undertail coverts, and white wing spots. The sexual difference is that the occiput of the male bird is scarlet. The beak is strong and pointed; there are 4 toes, two in front and two in back, facing each other, and the claws are very sharp; the tail feathers are strong and elastic.

Life habits

The spotted woodpecker’s behavior often appears irritable and restless, and its appearance and demeanor are not pleasing to the eye. They are aloof by nature and prefer to be alone. Even if they are with the same kind, they usually avoid any contact and do not interact with each other. Woodpeckers are happy to build nests and mate in self-drilled tree holes. Usually, they first look for trees that have been rotten inside as targets. The male and female birds work continuously in turns, pecking through the bark and xylem on the surface until they reach the rotten heart of the tree. Then he digs the hole deeply and throws wood chips and sawdust outside with his feet, making the hole dug tortuous and deep, so that not even a little light can penetrate. They lay eggs and feed their chicks in the dark at the bottom of the cave. Most of the newly hatched chicks lie peacefully in the nest. After a few days, their calls for food become very noisy. In order to wait for a meal brought back by their parents, they often crawl to the entrance of the cave and even put half of their bodies in the nest. Get out of the cave and wait for food. The affectionate parents of the chicks are still in the stage when the children are able to fly out of the nest for the first time, and the whole family lives together for about a month, and finally they go away and live alone.

Main food

Spotted woodpeckers specialize in eating silverfish, beetle larvae, wood beetles and insects that damage the xylem of tree trunks in summer. According to zoologists who conducted an analysis of the spotted woodpecker's feeding habits in Jiangsu Province, they found that 90.8% of the food in the bird's stomach was beetle larvae, and wireworms accounted for 8.4%. Especially during the brooding period, the two parent birds fed the young birds for more than 20 days. The number of beetle larvae is as high as more than 4,000! It is no exaggeration to call it the "tree guardian" affectionately. Spotted woodpeckers have difficulty catching insects in winter and spring, so they often feed on berries and pine nuts. Sometimes they also peck at maple, linden, aspen and birch trees to suck the flowing sap from the trunks. Occasionally, they also cause some negative effects on the trees. Impact, but comparing the benefits and harms, its "harms" are really not worth mentioning. The spotted woodpecker is a key protected animal in Jiangsu Province.

It is the most common resident bird among domestic woodpeckers. It is widely distributed in central and eastern areas, and is also found in northern Xinjiang.

Suitable Habitat

The suitable habitat areas for great spotted woodpeckers across the country are mainly distributed in provinces with high forest coverage such as East China, Central China, and South China, accounting for 38.36% of the total area in the country; Sub-suitable areas are mainly distributed in eastern Qinghai, central Heilongjiang, eastern Gansu and other places, accounting for 28.91% of the country's total area; unsuitable areas account for about 32.73% of the country's total area, mainly distributed in Tibet, Taiwan, northern Inner Mongolia, and Xinjiang Department and other places. 2. Great spotted woodpecker (scientific name: Dendrocopos major) is also known as red woodpecker, smelly woodpecker, flowered woodpecker, flowered woodpecker, white-flowered woodpecker, woodpecker crown, and woodpecker crown. Small birds, body length 20-25cm. The upper body is mainly black, the forehead, cheeks and ear feathers are white, and there is a large white spot on the shoulders and wings. The tail is black, with black and white horizontal spots on the outer tail feathers, and black and white horizontal spots on the flight feathers. The underparts are white with no spots; the underbelly and undertail coverts are bright red. The occipital part of the male bird is red. This species is not included in the protected list, but is threatened by illegal hunting. Traditional Chinese medicine theory believes that this species as a whole has the effects of nourishing and replenishing deficiency, reducing swelling and relieving pain, which has stimulated the hunting of this species. In addition, because this species likes to eat many forest pests, it is known as the "forest doctor". There are many institutions studying the artificial breeding and attraction of this species, and some institutions have made certain progress.

Habitat environment

Inhabits mountainous and plain coniferous forests, coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forests and broad-leaved forests, especially mixed forests and broad-leaved forests, and also appears on forest edges. Secondary forest and farmland edge sparse forest and shrubland.

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Distribution range

World distribution

The Great Spotted Woodpecker is distributed in Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, and Azerbaijan , Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, United States, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Iran, Islamic Republic of, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, South Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Principality of Luxembourg, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro*** China, Morocco, Myanmar, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Vietnam.

Traveler: Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, Iceland, Ireland, United States.

Distribution in China

Distributed in Xinjiang, northeastern Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Hebei, Henan, Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hong Kong and Hainan Island. [1]

Life habits

Food habits

Mainly include beetles, beetles, locusts, girdworms, beetle larvae, Formicidae, Culicidae, It feeds on various insects and insect larvae such as Vespididae, Lepidoptera, and Coleoptera, as well as other small invertebrates such as snails and spiders. Occasionally, it also eats plant foods such as acorns, pine nuts, plums, and grass seeds.

Habits

Great spotted woodpeckers often move alone or in pairs, and in the later stages of breeding they form loose family groups. Forage mostly on tree trunks and thick branches. When foraging, they often jump up from the middle and lower parts of the tree. If they find insects in the bark or trunk, they quickly peck at the wood to feed. They use their tongues to penetrate the gaps in the bark or hook out the insects from the holes they peck out. If someone is found while pecking the wood, they will go around and hide behind the wood being pecked or continue to climb up. After searching one tree, they will fly to another tree. When flying, their wings will open and close, moving forward in a big wave. Sometimes, Feeding on the ground among fallen wood and branches. Call 'jen-jen-'.