![]() ![]() You may also want to view and listen to this brief article and podcast brought to you by BirdNote, a show that airs daily on public radio stations nationwide. You’ll also notice the Juvenile Downy Woodpeckers have red crowns. Watch as this adult male with a red patch on the nape comes in to feed the juvenile on this video. Listen for their sharp contact notes as they feed. The full white band may be more frequent in Downy than Hairy Woodpecker, but that needs. Some individuals of both species have the white eyebrows meeting around the back of the head, while others don’t (as shown here). They will come to feeders for suet (and occasionally sunflower seeds).Īs we mentioned, the Downy Woodpecker is a common woodpecker on Seabrook Island. It’s also important to point out that there is a lot of individual variation in the extent of black in the back of the head. While foraging, they do more tapping and excavating in winter and surface gleaning in the summer. Sexes forage separately, the male on small branches and the upper canopy. This article may help, and the fact that at least on Seabrook Island, the Downy is much more outgoing and common to view.ĭowny Woodpeckers eat insects (>75%) and fruit, seeds, and sap from sapsucker wells. This is often difficult to see as they move so quickly Both have a white trailing edge on the tail feathers, but only the Downy has black spots.Length of bill for the Hairy is nearly as long as the head.The Hairy Woodpecker has a longer, thorn-like beak that is more distinguished than its look-a-like, the Downy Woodpecker. Hairy Woodpecker Characteristics: Longer Beak. Overall size of the Hairy is 9″ vs Downy of 6″ – but this is difficult to discern when they are not next to each other The Downy Woodpecker makes a bird call that sounds whiney and descends in pitch at the end of the call, unlike the Hairy Woodpecker.It is nearly impossible to tell the difference except for three features: Most people have a difficult time distinguishing between a Downy & Hairy Woodpecker, so don’t be discouraged if you have felt this way. It is less patterned and smaller than a yellow-bellied sapsucker. Their short, chisel-like bill is shorter than depth of head. The males sport a red patch on back of their head. An often acrobatic forager, this black-and-white woodpecker is at home on tiny branches or balancing on slender plant galls, sycamore seed balls, and suet feeders.ĭowny Woodpeckers are black above, white below wings spotted white with a black-and-white face. The active little Downy Woodpecker is a familiar sight at backyard feeders and in parks and woodlots, where it joins flocks of chickadees and nuthatches, barely out-sizing them, and can be attracted to a bird bath or sprinkler. The outer tail feathers are typically white with a few black spots on the Downy Woodpecker – Ed Konrad ![]()
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