Woodpeckers (Picidae)

Downy Woodpecker

Dryobates pubescens

PiciformesSmall (16 cm)

Appearance

North America's smallest woodpecker. Bold black-and-white pattern with a white back stripe. Males have a small red patch on the nape. Short, stubby bill distinguishes it from the nearly identical but larger Hairy Woodpecker.

Habitat

Deciduous forests, wooded suburbs, orchards, parks, and riparian thickets. One of the most frequent visitors to backyard suet feeders.

Behaviour

Probes bark and dead wood for insect larvae, ants, and beetles. Drums on resonant surfaces to establish territory. Often joins mixed-species flocks with chickadees and nuthatches in winter.

Seasonality

Non-migratory. Year-round resident throughout most of its range.

Range

Almost all of North America south of the Arctic, from the Pacific to the Atlantic coast.

Field note

"A woodpecker's tongue wraps around the back of its skull when retracted — a shock-absorbing arrangement that also protects the brain from the 20 g-force impacts of repeated drumming."

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