Dendrocopos major, or Great Spotted Woodpecker

Despite its name, the Great Spotted Woodpecker is not that big at only about the size of a starling, they are black and white with white shoulder patches and a distinctive bright red tail. Male great spotted woodpeckers have a red patch on the nape which distinguishes them from females. Juveniles have a red crown and blotchy white shoulder patches but look quite similar to the adult woodpeckers. They have stiff tail feathers, which they use as a prop when hopping up trees and to assist with its grips. Their feet are zygodactyls and have two toes pointing forwards and two toes pointing backwards. They  nest in old trees, excavating a hole using their strong bills and lining the nest with wood chips and  lay a single brood of 4 to 7 glossy white eggs, which they incubate for 10-13 days and chicks will fledge after 18 days. These birds can live for up to ten years and every year they excavate a new nest hole which means they leave lots of potential nest sites for other hole nesting birds and animals. This is one of 2 juveniles that were sat on my neighbors fence.