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The following is an archived discussion of a featured article nomination. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the article's talk page or in Wikipedia talk:Featured article candidates. No further edits should be made to this page.

The article was promoted by Sarastro1 via FACBot (talk) 10:52, 18 February 2017 [1].

Great spotted woodpecker

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Nominator(s): Jimfbleak - talk to me? 07:54, 9 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

The image of a great spotted woodpecker eating a pig shows just how adaptable this successful species is. Already the world's most widespread woodpecker, it's recently recolonised Ireland and has turned up in Alaska. North Americans, lock up your hogs! Jimfbleak - talk to me? 07:54, 9 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Many thanks, Jimfbleak - talk to me? 07:12, 14 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Comments from FunkMonk

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  • Hi, I'll review this more thoroughly soon. FunkMonk (talk) 14:55, 9 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]
  • What does the recording correspond to in the voice section? Kind of hard to know whether this is the sound of the bird itself or the "drumming". I see the Commons description says drumming, so this should be added.
  • The images seem a bit cluttered on the right side, could some maybe be staggered?
moved two Jimfbleak - talk to me? 06:58, 10 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]
  • Image review - since it seems safe this will get four other reviews and supports already, I'll provide an image review instead (so you don't have to wait the usual time for that), but will be back with a full review if some of the others stall. FunkMonk (talk) 12:58, 11 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]
  • The distribution map needs a source for the info on Commons.
  • Not my map, but I've added a couple of "consistent with" sources. I hope that will do, since I'm reluctant to have to invest a lot of time and effort to re-invent the wheel and replace with a probably worse version. The map looks OK to me, the only similar images I found on Tineye were the same map on other Wikipedias Jimfbleak - talk to me? 15:48, 11 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]
"Consistent with" sources appear to be fine for images, I've been told. FunkMonk (talk) 17:22, 11 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks again, Jimfbleak - talk to me? 06:47, 12 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]
  • In what way is the skull drawing based on the The Unfeathered Bird book? If it is traced after a drawing there, it may be problematic as a derivative work. If that is the case, it could maybe be remade based on one of these[2] free images?
I'll take your word for it. FunkMonk (talk) 17:22, 11 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]
  • This video of an adult feeding a juvenile seems superior in quality and interest to the video currently in the article:[3]

Comments from Riley

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I'm sick, so I don't really know how thorough these comments will be. Anyways, here goes:

  • Thanks, it's beyond the call of duty to review when you're poorly. I'll finish most of these tomorrow I hope
  • This sentence in the lead is a bit ambiguous, "When the young fledge, each adult takes responsibility for feeding part of the brood for about ten days." One could take that to mean either each adult feeds it for ten days each, or it could mean that the adults split up the feeding about ten days after the young fledge.
  • In the sentence, "The Picinae are further divided into six tribes, the largest of which is the pied woodpeckers, including the great spotted woodpecker," it is a bit confusing grammatically (it is correct I think, but still, confusing).
  • Possibly make "It was moved to its current genus by the German naturalist Carl Ludwig Koch in 1816," "It was moved to its current genus, Dendrocopus, by the German naturalist Carl Ludwig Koch in 1816."
  • Specify ice sheet in the sentence, "The fossil subspecies D. m. submajor lived during the Middle Pleistocene Riss glaciation (250,000 to 300,000 years ago) when it was found in Europe south of the ice sheet."
  • The sentence, "The adult great spotted woodpecker is 20–24 cm (7.9–9.4 in) long, with a 34–39 cm (13–15 in) wingspan and weighs 70–98 g (2.5–3.5 oz)," in the description section needs a grammar fix.
  • In the description section, the second paragraph has a lot of instances of no spaces between periods.
  • Two things in the distribution section, first, split the sentence, "The great spotted woodpecker is mainly sedentary, but sizeable movements can occur when there are shortages of pine and spruce cones in the north of the range, and highland populations often descend to lower altitudes in winter," and then link sedentary.
  • In the sentence, "Juveniles also have a tendency to wander, often as far as 100–600 km (60–400 mi), sometimes up to 3,000 km (1,900 mi)," you should probably add away from something at the end of the sentence, as the previous sentence makes it sound like you are talking about altitude.
  • In the sentence, "The great spotted woodpecker became extinct in the island of Ireland in the seventeenth century, but naturally recolonised from 2007, with breeding proven or suspected in at least 10 counties by 2013," the part, "but naturally recolonised from 2007," is confusing.

I will add more later, good luck! RileyBugzYell at me | Edits 15:26, 9 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

RileyBugz, all done so far, hope you are on the mend Jimfbleak - talk to me? 07:12, 10 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]


I don't have school today and am feeling much better, so time to continue!

  • The sentence, "The great spotted woodpecker is sexually mature aged one year and starts its courtship behaviour in December," needs copyediting for grammar, and in the last part, "...starts its courtship behaviour in December," you should probably specify that it is the December just after it becomes sexually mature.
  • Add the indefinite article "a" in the sentence "It has a fluttering flight display in which the male flies with shallow wingbeats and spread tail," before "spread tail."
  • Space between refs and period after reefs in the sentence "Old holes are rarely re-used,[3] although the same tree may be used for nesting for several years.[25] [24]."
  • I don't think that chicks are incubated. "The altricial naked chicks are incubated, mainly by the female during the day and the male at night,[28][24] for 10–12 days before hatching."
  • The sentence "Both birds brood and feed the chicks and keep the nest clean," has two instances of "and" in a list.
  • I think that's correct, the first part of the sentence refers to care of the chicks, the second to the nest. I can't see how you can lose the "and" without splitting the sentence, which would make it choppy to read Jimfbleak - talk to me? 07:14, 11 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]
  • In the sentence "The young fledge in 20–23 days," do the young fledge 20 to 23 days after being born, or 20 to 23 days after being hatched?
  • In the sentence "For this reason the great spotted woodpecker is evaluated as a species of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)," the IUCN should be an acronym, as it has already been mentioned in the lead section of the article.

That looks to be all, good luck! RileyBugzYell at me | Edits 21:43, 10 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Comments from Sabine's Sunbird

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  • The lead is a touch out of order - instead of saying what the thing is it leaps straight into where it is found in the first sentence. What it is isn't introduced till the next sentence. Perhaps "The GSW (binomial) is a medium sized woodpecker found in ...."?
  • Territories are mentioned in the context of advertisement (the drumming) but not in the section on breeding or feeding. I suspect a bit more could be said about them. Are these territories defended by both partners, are they defended year-round or only when breeding, what else is done to defend them, how big are they, do they overlap or are young birds tolerated in them?
  • Incubation of the altricial naked chicks, mainly by the female,[25] lasts for 10–12 days before hatching. Surely the female incubates eggs, not chicks? Once hatched, can I take it the female broods the young too?
  • Still doesn't read quite right. First off, chicks aren't incubated, they are brooded. Secondly, the sentence reads "chicks are incubated - before hatching". Surely that's "eggs are incubated...before hatching"? They aren't chicks till they hatch, right? Sabine's Sunbird talk 19:25, 10 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Once you've had a look at these points I'll be happy to support. Sabine's Sunbird talk 19:59, 9 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

  • One last niggle It is mainly resident unless the conifer cone crop in the north of its range fails, but the tendency of some birds to wander , This senstence comes across a little odd, as it is "statement, exception, exception" ;and the bridging between the two exceptions reads a little like a non sequitur. Maybe Across most of its range it is resident, but in the north of its range some will migrate if the conifer cone crop fails. Some individuals have a tendency to wander Sabine's Sunbird talk 19:09, 10 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Comments from Dank

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Support on prose per my standard disclaimer. These are my edits. Just a note that my support covers a variety of issues, but it's agnostic on bigger questions of word usage and what articles like this one are supposed to say. Reading quickly, I don't disagree with any of the points above ... it's just not my job to cover those things. - Dank (push to talk) 20:06, 9 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Support Comments from Aa77zz

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Another well written article.

  • I suggest you mention that the great spotted woodpecker roosts in old nest-holes or other cavities.
  • "The altricial naked chicks are incubated, mainly by the female during the day and the male at night,[28][24] for 10–12 days before hatching." As pointed out by Sabine's Sunbird's above, the eggs are incubated - not the chicks.
  • A second problem with this sentence is that BWP (not the Update) has the male rather than the female doing most of the incubation during the day: "Incubation mostly by the male who also sits at night. Longest daytime shift by male 121 min, by female 55 min (Durango 1945b)" (BWP 1985 V.4 p.865). Durango 1945b is "Om större hackspettens, Dryobates m. major (L.), häcknings biologi" Vår Fågelvärld 4(1) 4-18. Amazingly a scan of this issue is available here but I cannot read Swedish. You cite Ref28 BTO which has "by the: Female (occ. Male)" which I don't have much faith in. Your other reference Ref24 BWP Update. 5 (2): 101–184 is not on the web (or at least I cannot find it). It might be safer to just say the eggs are incubated by both sexes during the day. - Aa77zz (talk) 21:07, 10 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]
  • Fixed as suggested. The abstract of the update is here, although I don't normally link to abstracts in articles. I've requested the full text, but no idea if or when it will come. It's obviously not open web access, and might well have more detail than I need for a Wikipedia-length article anyway Jimfbleak - talk to me? 08:06, 11 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Final comments

  • Perhaps mention that only one brood is raised each year (are all non-passerines single brooded?)
  • Mention moult - adults have full post breeding moult, juveniles partial

- Aa77zz (talk) 11:43, 11 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

All looks good. Supported above. Well done. - Aa77zz (talk) 08:20, 12 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Support from Cas Liber

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Well done/nice article - only minor issue was some choppy paragraphing, which I fixed. looks good on comprehensiveness and prose. Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 01:18, 14 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for fixes and support Jimfbleak - talk to me? 07:20, 14 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Source review from Cas Liber

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  • References formatted consistently. Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 01:22, 14 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]
  • Earwigs tool clear Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 01:22, 14 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]
  • FN 19 checks out (material faithful to source) - incidentally has some interesting material on increase in numbers in England and Wales, which might be good to add.)
  • FN 27 checks out (material faithful to source) - incidentally has some interesting material on decrease in numbers in northern England and Scotland, which might be good to add.)
  • FN 1 (used 3 times) checks out (material faithful to source) - incidentally mentions hybridization with Syrica woodpecker, which might be good to add))
Thanks for source review. I've added the hybridisation, but not the UK points. The UK is a tiny part of the range, but because so many sources are British it's easy to overemphasise parochial material—the original version of this article was almost exclusively about Ireland (see the talk page). I'm sure there are similar local variations from France to Japan, nothing special about the British Isles, except the recolonisation of Ireland. Thanks again, Jimfbleak - talk to me? 07:27, 14 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]
All fair points. Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 10:05, 14 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Comments by Wehwalt

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Support just a few things.

  • "recently recolonisation of Ireland" I would strike the "ly"
  • "Great spotted woodpeckers chisel into trees to find food items or excavate nest holes" not too thrilled about "items". I think you could get by without it.
  • "fallen wood chips" they don't fall very far judging by the body and may not "fall" at all, they are just construction debris.
  • "Adult great spotted woodpeckers have a complete moult after breeding that takes about 120 days. " Would it be possible to add "season" or similar after "breeding"? After all, they may not breed and there's a slight problem of ambiguity as the sentence stands. (whether 120 days refers to the mount or to the breeding)
  • Why are the birds that reach Gibraltar considered vagrants? Both by the map and by your description, they seem within their range.
Very interesting and well done.--Wehwalt (talk) 09:47, 15 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]
I've made the changes suggested and removed Gibraltar, many thanks for review and support Jimfbleak - talk to me? 14:06, 15 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Comments by Cwmhiraeth

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A number of people have already reviewed this so it is looking well-polished. A few things I noticed:

  • "D. m. japonicus of Japan is black-backed" and "D. m. cabanisi and D. m. stresemanni, are also black-backed" - these seem curious statements seeing that the subspecies in general seem to be black-backed.
Although it's what the source says, I can't tell any difference in the images, removed the black backs Jimfbleak - talk to me? 14:27, 15 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]
  • "The Sind woodpecker is very similar to Syrian" - perhaps add a "the".
Done Jimfbleak - talk to me? 14:27, 15 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]
  • Is the non-breeding plumage identical to the breeding plumage?
I think with all woodpeckers there is no significant seasonal change, as with pigeons, cuckoos etc Jimfbleak - talk to me? 14:27, 15 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]
  • "The eggs are incubated by both adults during the day" - In this article it was thought remarkable that two birds were incubating the eggs at the same time, so perhaps you could rephrase this sentence.
"either" Jimfbleak - talk to me? 14:27, 15 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]
  • "Numbers have increased in Europe due to forest plantation" - I don't understand this.
added that it creates more breeding habitat Jimfbleak - talk to me? 14:27, 15 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]
  • Looking back now at the lead, I think it should mention something on taxonomy and subspecies.
Done Jimfbleak - talk to me? 14:27, 15 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Many thanks Jimfbleak - talk to me? 07:00, 16 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]
The above discussion is preserved as an archive. Please do not modify it. No further edits should be made to this page.
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