Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)

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A Field Guide to Eastern Birds. by Roger Tory Peterson.

Return to Eastern Woodpeckers

Color Photograph: Copyright Corel Corp.

Male

Female

Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)

Identification: Length from tip of bill to tip of tail 6 inches.

Male: Crown and nape of the neck black with a red band between the nape and the neck. Side of the head white with a broad black band running through the eye. Bill weak, short, and stubby. Neck, breast and abdomen white. Back white. Wings black with white spots except at the base of the wing.

Female: Similar to the male, but without a red band on the head.

Similar Species:  The Hairy Woodpecker is nearly identical to the Downy Woodpecker in its markings. However the Hairy Woodpecker is larger (about the size of a thrush) compared to the sparrow size of the Downy Woodpecker. The bill of the Hairy Woodpecker is long and narrow, not stubby. The Black-backed Woodpecker (as its name implies) has a black, not white, back. In addition the male (but not the female) has a yellow patch on the crown of the head. The Three-toed Woodpecker has a back with a ladderlike arrangement of black and white stripes. The side of the head is almost completely black except for a thin, white line running through the eye. The crown of the male is yellow. The Red-cockaded Woodpecker also has a ladderlike arrangement of black and white stripes on the back. The male lacks the large, red patch on the crown, and the sides of the breast and abdomen, although white, are spotted with black.

Breeding Range (see map below): The Downy Woodpecker is resident throughout most of North America except for the extreme north and the southwestern United States.

Overwintering Range:  See above.

Habitat: The Downy Woodpecker is found in deciduous and mixed deciduous-coniferous forests, city parks, and other suburban areas.

Food: Insects.

Behavior:  Like most woodpeckers the Downy Woodpecker feeds by drilling holes in trees and extracting boring insects with a barbed tongue. This species is perhaps the commonest woodpecker in North America and is much more commonly found in suburban and urban areas than the Hairy Woodpecker. The Downy Woodpecker commonly comes to suet at bird feeders and moves in mixed flocks of chickadess, nuthatches, and kinglets during the winter.

Reproduction:  The clutch consists of 4 or 5 white eggs laid in a hole in a tree.