Birds and wildlife

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker

Dendrocopos minorGroup: woodpeckerUK Conservation status:Red

How to identify

The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker is the smallest and least common of the three woodpeckers that are resident in Britain. The male is distinguished from the female by his bright red crown. It tends to nest and feed higher up and is quieter in its tapping. Usually located by its call, and its drumming. When feeding, it creeps along branches and flutters from branch to branch, moving with a bouncing flight in the open.

Call

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker

Patrik Åberg / xeno-canto

Key features to look out for

  • About the size of a House Sparrow, so fairly small
  • Black and white barred plumage on back and wings
  • Males have a red crown; females black
  • No red on belly, as with Great Spotted Woodpecker
  • Has a bouncy, undulating flight

Conservation status

Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers have declined significantly since the 1980s, with a 41% contraction of its breeding season range from 1968–72 to 2008–11. They are on the UK’s Red List of Birds of Conservation Concern and a Priority Conservation Species for the RSPB. The declines appear to be linked to chicks not surviving to adulthood, specifically chicks not having enough food. 

Our conservation work is now focused on identifying how to ensure that Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers have enough food to successfully raise their chicks. Whether that’s down to mature trees, wetter habitat conditions in woodlands or another factor, our work will continue to pinpoint how conservation work can be targeted to help them.

Where and when to see them

Woodland, especially Alder, in southern-central England and Wales is now their main stronghold. 

Difficulty rating - Hard

There are not many Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers in the UK, so you have less chance of tracking one down than some of our more numerous species.

Key

  1. Resident
  2. Passage
  3. Summer
  4. Winter
* This map is intended as a guide. It shows general distribution rather than detailed, localised populations.
  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

Where best to see them

A Lesser Spotted Woodpecker drilling into the bark of a birch tree.
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
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Key facts