Middle Spotted Woodpecker
Dendrocoptes medius
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderPiciformes (Woodpeckers and Allies)
- FamilyPicidae (Woodpeckers)
- GenusDendrocoptes (Middle Spotted Woodpecker and Allies)
- SpeciesDendrocoptes medius (Middle Spotted Woodpecker)
About the Middle Spotted Woodpecker
The middle spotted woodpecker (Dendrocoptes medius) is a mainly European woodpecker belonging to the genus Dendrocoptes. The middle spotted woodpecker was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Picus medius. The specific epithet is Latin for "intermediate". Linnaeus gave the locality as Europe, but this is now taken to be Sweden. For many years this woodpecker was usually placed in the genus Dendrocopos but a 2015 molecular phylogenetic study that compared nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences from pied woodpeckers found that Dendrocopos was polyphyletic. As part of the reorganisation to create monophyletic genera, the middle spotted woodpecker was one of three species that were placed in the resurrected genus Dendrocoptes. This genus had been described by the German ornithologists Jean Cabanis and Ferdinand Heine in 1863 with the middle spotted woodpecker as the type species.
Four subspecies are recognised: Dendrocoptes medius medius (Linnaeus, 1758) – Europe to west Russia Dendrocoptes medius caucasicus Bianchi, 1905 – north Turkey through the Caucasus Dendrocoptes medius... Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at Plitvice Lakes National Park
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Dendrocopos major
Grey-headed Woodpecker
Picus canus
White-backed Woodpecker
Dendrocopos leucotos
Black Woodpecker
Dryocopus martius
Eurasian Wryneck
Jynx torquilla
Green Woodpecker
Picus viridis
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
Dryobates minor
Eurasian Three-toed Woodpecker
Picoides tridactylus
Syrian Woodpecker
Dendrocopos syriacus
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Białowieża National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 2 | Plitvice Lakes National Park | 🇭🇷 Croatia | |
| 3 | Picos de Europa National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 4 | Aigüestortes National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 5 | Biebrza National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 6 | Gauja National Park | 🇱🇻 Latvia | |
| 7 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 8 | Kiskunság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 9 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 10 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 11 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 12 | Tatra National Park | 🇸🇰 Slovakia | |
| 13 | Vanoise National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 14 | Hortobágy National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 15 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 16 | Triglav National Park | 🇸🇮 Slovenia |
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Middle Spotted Woodpecker in Plitvice Lakes National Park?
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Middle Spotted Woodpecker sighting in Plitvice Lakes National Park, based on 46 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Middle Spotted Woodpecker in Plitvice Lakes National Park?
October has the highest sighting rate for Middle Spotted Woodpecker in Plitvice Lakes National Park in our monthly data.