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Lesser Spotted Woodpecker   Dendrocopus minor
Ko-aka-gera

As the name suggests, the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker is smaller than the Great Spotted Woodpecker (D. major), Its black and white body is about the size of the Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker (D. kizuki), and the male has a red spot on the top of its head. It prefers to live in wooded areas along the coast rather than in deep forests.

In winter, the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker often looks for food while moving with groups of various species of tits. They are often unnoticed, because they do not normally make calls. Since their bodies are small, they can stop on thin branches or vines and sometimes on reeds or similar sturdy plants.

These woodpeckers live only in Hokkaido, and can be seen relatively often particularly along the Okhotsk Sea coast or in the Tokachi region.

Male (Abashiri City, 15 November 2005)