Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus)

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

Return to Eastern Woodpeckers

Color Photograph: Copyright Marcus G. Martin

Male

Female

Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus)

Identification: Length from tip of bill to tip of tail 9 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 strong, long, and narrow. 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 Downy Woodpecker is nearly identical in markings to the thrush-sized Hairy Woodpecker, but is a much smaller bird (about the size of a sparrow). 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 ladder-like 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 Hairy Woodpecker is resident throughout almost all of North America where deciduous or mixed deciduous-coniferous forest occurs. The species is absent only from northern Canada and Alaska and southern Texas and Arizona.

Overwintering Range:  See above.

Habitat: The Hairy Woodpecker is found in deciduous and mixed deciduous-coniferous forests. Outside of the breeding season the species is found in a wider variety of habitats including suburban areas and city parks.

Food: Insects.

Behavior: The Hairy Woodpecker, in common with most woodpeckers, finds its insect prey by drilling holes in trees with its sharp beak and extracting wood-boring insects with a barbed tongue. Like most woodpeckers it drums on dead branches to defend its territory. The Hairy Woodpecker is a shier species than the Downy Woodpecker and is more likely to be found in deciduous forest than its close relative. The voice is a sharp peek or a rattle.

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