| Middle Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos medius (Linnaeus, 1758)) |
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Scientific name: Dendrocopos medius (Linnaeus, 1758) Common name: Middle Spotted Woodpecker French name: Pic mar Order: Piciformes Family: Picidae Size: Body size: 20 to 22 cm; Weight: 50 to 80 g; Wingspan: 33 to 34 cm. Habitat: Deciduous forests with old trees. Food: Insects and larvae captured on the surface of trunks and branches, most often high in old trees, and some seeds and acorns too. It may sometimes come to the feeding point to feed on sunflower seeds. Nesting: Middle Spotted Woodpeckers excavate holes in trunks or branches which are decaying because of weather conditions or insects. The holes are usually located at height between 5 and 15 metres. Females lay 4 to 6 eggs in April-May. Migration: Sedentary. Geographic area: Europe, Asia Minor. |
The Middle Spotted Woodpecker has a red cap without black border. The black mark on the lateral side of the neck does touch the bill nor the other black mark on the nape. There are large white patches on the shoulders. The flanks show dark streaks and the under-tail is a pink colour. Young Great Spotted Woodpeckers (Dendrocopos major) and Syrian Woodpeckers (Dendrocopos syriacus) also show a red cap and this can be confusing. You can tell them apart with the black mark on the lateral side of the head touching the bill. |
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I was on the woodland edge, just before nightfall, in the hope to observe Western Roe Deers, when I heard the typical calls of woodpeckers feeding the brood. I went to the place where I had heard these typical squeaks to try to find a hole. Having found a hole rather high in a Oak, I have waited a few minutes without particularly hiding myself, knowing by experience that Great Spotted Woodpecker are used to coming back with their bill full of insects about every 10 minutes. What a surprise, this time these are Middle Spotted Woodpeckers! |
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I have watched two feeding sessions and then went away not to disturb. |
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The young Middle Spotted Woodpeckers appeared rather large to me. I came back two days after and I have found that they had already abandoned the nest. |
André Bon November 2012