Downy Woodpecker

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Downy Woodpecker
Male
Female, Cap Tourmente National Wildlife Area, Quebec, Canada
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Piciformes
Family: Picidae
Genus: Picoides
Species: P. pubescens
Binomial name
Picoides pubescens
(Linnaeus, 1766)
Range of the Downy Woodpecker
Synonyms

Dryobates pubescens

The Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) is a species of woodpecker, the smallest in North America.

Description

The female lacks the red patch on the back of the head

Adult Downy Woodpeckers are the smallest of North America's woodpeckers but there are many smaller species elsewhere, especially the piculets. The total length of the species ranges from 14 to 18 cm (5.5 to 7.1 in) and the wingspan from 25 to 31 cm (9.8 to 12.2 in). Body mass ranges from 20 to 33 g (0.71 to 1.16 oz). Standard measurements are as follows: the wing chord is 8.5–10 cm (3.3–3.9 in), the tail is 4–6 cm (1.6–2.4 in), the bill is 1–1.8 cm (0.39–0.71 in) and the tarsus is 1.1–1.7 cm (0.43–0.67 in).[2][3][4] The Downy Woodpecker is mainly black on the upperparts and wings, with a white back, throat and belly and white spotting on the wings. There is a white bar above the eye and one below. They have a black tail with white outer feathers barred with black. Adult males have a red patch on the back of the head whereas juvenile birds display a red cap.

The Downy Woodpecker is virtually identical in plumage pattern to the much larger Hairy Woodpecker, but it can be distinguished from the Hairy by the presence of black spots on its white tail feathers and the length of its bill. The Downy Woodpecker's bill is shorter than its head, whereas the Hairy Woodpecker's bill is approximately equal to head length.

The Downy Woodpecker gives a number of vocalizations, including a short pik call. Like other woodpeckers, it also produces a drumming sound with its beak as it pecks into trees. Compared to other North American species its drums are slow.[5]

Taxonomy

Despite their close resemblance, Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers are not very closely related, and they are likely to be separated in different genera;[6][7] the outward similarity is a spectacular example of convergent evolution. Why they evolved this way cannot be explained with confidence; it may be relevant that the species exploit rather different-sized foodstuffs and do not compete very much ecologically.

Ecology and behavior

Drumming
A Downy Woodpecker drumming in Minnesota. A distant woodpecker drumming in response, and other birds, can be heard in the background.
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Their breeding habitat is forested areas, mainly deciduous, across most of North America to Central America. They nest in a tree cavity excavated by the nesting pair in a dead tree or limb.

These birds are mostly permanent residents. Northern birds may migrate further south; birds in mountainous areas may move to lower elevations. Downy Woodpeckers roost in tree cavities in the winter.

Downy Woodpeckers forage on trees, picking the bark surface in summer and digging deeper in winter. They mainly eat insects, also seeds and berries. In winter, especially, Downy Woodpeckers can often be found in suburban backyards with trees and will feed on suet at birdfeeders.

Gallery

  • A male Downy Woodpecker eating from a suet feeder

  • An adult male Downy Woodpecker in Ottawa, Ontario

  • An adult female walking in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

  • A Downy Woodpecker hanging upside down

  • Feeding on suet

References

  1. ↑ BirdLife International (2012). "Picoides pubescens". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013. 
  2. ↑ Woodpeckers: An Identification Guide to the Woodpeckers of the World by Hans Winkler, David A. Christie & David Nurney. Houghton Mifflin (1995), ISBN 978-0-395-72043-1
  3. ↑ Downy woodpecker Species Account
  4. ↑ Downy Woodpecker, Life History, All About Birds - Cornell Lab of Ornithology
  5. ↑ Sibley, David Allen (2000). The Sibley Guide to Birds. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. p. 312. ISBN 978-0-679-45122-8. 
  6. ↑ Moore, Andrea; Weibel, Amy C.; Agius (2006). "Mitochondrial DNA phylogeny of the woodpecker genus Veniliornis (Picidae, Picinae) and related genera implies convergent evolution of plumage patterns" (PDF). Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 87: 611–624. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.2006.00586.x. 
  7. ↑ Weibel, Amy C.; Moore, William S. (2005). "Plumage convergence in Picoides woodpeckers based on a molecular phylogeny, with emphasis on convergence in downy and hairy woodpeckers". Condor 107 (4): 797–809. doi:10.1650/7858.1. 

External links

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