The Downy Woodpecker
The Downy Woodpecker is a familiar sight throughout most of North America. It is a pretty little bird similar in appearance to the Hairy Woodpecker. They will readily visit backyard birdfeeders if suet or peanut butter is offered, and its drumming roll can be heard throughout the springtime. They drum to attract a mate, mark their territory, and in my opinion, for the simple fun of it. Lord knows they're not going to excavate ants and beetles from a metal drain pipe or my chimney.
Description
The Downy Woodpecker is the smallest North American woodpecker. Its plumage is similar to the Hairy Woodpecker, but the Downy is a smaller measuring just six inches in length. Adults are mainly black on the upper parts and wings with a sprinkling of white spots. Its crown, forehead, and tail are black as well. The plumage on its back, belly and chest is white, and there is a bar of white above and below the eyes. Males can be distinguished from the females by the red patch on the back of its head.
The Downy Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker on...
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Ottawa.Oct09
Ottawa.Oct09
Downy Woodpecker
Range and Habitat
The Downy Woodpecker can be found throughout most of the United States and Southern Canada. As its preferred habitat is temperate and subtropical woodlands, it rarely, if ever seen in the arid Southwest. The Downy Woodpecker prefers woodlands, parks and gardens, but is often found in rural and urban areas as well.
Mating and Nesting
The Downy Woodpecker mates in late winter or early spring depending on what area of their range they reside in. Like most woodpeckers, the Downy drums to catch the attention of a potential mate. Once mated, the female usually selects the nest site but they work together on the excavation. The nest can be a hole in a dead tree, fence post, or utility pole. It is lined with woodchips before the female lays four to five white eggs.
The eggs require less than two weeks of incubation before hatching. The hatchlings leave the nest within a few weeks.
More than one brood may be raised in a breeding season.
Diet
The Downy Woodpecker forages on trees. It will pick at the bark exposing beetles, moths, and insect larvae. Its primary food source is insects but will also eat seeds and berries. It can also be found in suburban backyards dining on suet and peanut butter.
The Downy Woodpecker is a prolific little bird. It is not on any endangered or watch lists at this time.
Woodpeckers of North America
Woodpeckers of North America
Amazon Price: $16.47 (as of 01/08/2010)
Editorial Reviews
A well-produced and attractive tome ... and one that is well worth reading.... Recommended. (David A. Christie Ibis)
One of the most the most helpful and interesting chapters is on the effects human activities have on these birds. (Connie Krochmal BellaOnline)
Brings together all the current scientific knowledge about North American woodpeckers. (Bird Times)
North American Woodpeckers by Lizzy
The Little Guy
The Downy Woodpecker
Big Brothers
The Red-bellied Woodpecker
The Pileated Woodpecker
The Red-headed Woodpecker
The Hairy Woodpecker
The Northern Flicker
The Illusive One
The Ivory-billed Woodpecker
The Mischief Maker
Woody Woodpecker
Peterson's Field Guide to Birds
Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America (Peterson Field Guide Series)
Amazon Price: $16.38 (as of 01/08/2010)
An absolute must have for anyone with an interest in watching the birds.
Did you learn something new today?
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Reply
- Evelyn_Saenz Evelyn_Saenz Dec 7, 2009 @ 5:21 am
- I am so glad to hear that the Downy Woodpecker is not endangered. I have always enjoyed his tapping at my bird feeder. His little red cap brightens up a snowy day.
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Reply
- susannaduffy susannaduffy Oct 17, 2009 @ 5:31 am
- Your birds lenses are just superb. I always read them with pleasure
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Reply
- AndyPo AndyPo Jul 7, 2009 @ 9:25 am
- Another excellent lens. You have such a good variety of woodpeckers. I think we just have three here in England.
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Reply
- OhMe OhMe Jun 13, 2009 @ 4:50 pm
- I like all your Woodpecker lenses especially Woody. Our grandfather was called Peck because his red hair looked like a woodpecker. Welcome to the South Carolina Group.
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Reply
- tdove tdove Jun 13, 2009 @ 12:06 pm
- Thanks for joining G Rated Lense Factory!
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About the Author
Lensmaster ElizabethJeanAllen has been a member since March 16 2008, has rated 4,048 lenses, favorited 445, and has created 206 lenses from scratch. Lizzy Jean donates their royalties to Squidoo Charity Fund. This member's top-ranked page is "2009 Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments". See all my lenses
The Grail Bird: Rediscovery of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker
The Grail Bird: The Rediscovery of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker
Amazon Price: $10.17 (as of 01/08/2010)
Editorial Review
From Scientific American
This book is an outstanding example of the behind-the-recent-headlines genre. It tells the story of the obsessive quest to find the ivory-billed woodpecker, which was feared to be extinct (no confirmed sightings since 1944). Big, mysterious, iconic, the bird is "a symbol of everything that has gone wrong with our relationship to the environment." In the 19th century, it was plundered by collectors, and in the 20th, extensive habitat destruction seemingly drove it to extinction.
Resources used to construct this page.
Peterson, T.P. & Peterson, V.M. 2002. Birds of Eastern and Central North America, Fifth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, New York, N.Y.
Nature Works
WhatBird.com
Chipper Woods Bird Observatory
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by ElizabethJeanAllen
I tell my students to Learn from the Past, Live in the Present, and Plan for the Future. With Squidoo I can do all three.
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