The Great Spotted Woodpecker or GBS, who doesn't know it. Many people's favourite bird is pictured here in its full glory very nicely with its black and white plumage and red trousers.
The great spotted woodpecker mainly eats insects (larvae) and switches in winter to various tree seeds (especially from pine and spruce cones), nuts (hazelnut, walnut, beech, hornbeam) and to a lesser extent acorns. In summer, eggs and young birds are also sometimes snatched from nests.
The great spotted woodpecker is found in all types of woodland : deciduous, coniferous or mixed woodland. A varied forest structure (young and old trees, dense and open woodland) is preferred. It is not really forest-bound. The species also occurs in a cultural landscape with small woods, avenue trees, parks and gardens. The amount of standing dead wood is particularly important.
The great spotted woodpecker carves a nest cavity in trees. Soft woods (such as birch) are particularly favoured, but other tree species are also used to carve out a cavity with a round hole. Carving out a nest cavity takes 14 - 25 days on average. Both the male and the female carve out the hole. The same hole is often used several years in a row. In the nest cavity, the eggs are simply laid on the wood; the great spotted woodpecker does not make a comfortable nest for the young.
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