The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker excavates its own nest and depends on rotten wood soft enough for it to chisel out.
Nest hole: its own small hole excavated in a rotten trunk or branch of a deciduous tree where the wood is soft enough.
Dependence on dead wood: the need for rotten deciduous trees and standing dead wood makes the species sensitive to modern forestry.
Parental care: the female usually lays 5–6 eggs, and both parents share in incubating and feeding the young.
The availability of old deciduous trees and dead wood therefore determines where the species can breed, which contributes to its decline and its Red List status as Near Threatened.