And next I will have to take a close look at head shape – thanks for the tip Sarah. I’m looking forward to hearing more. Thus, the Downey is the dinky bird with the dinky beak. And it doesn't have the black spots on its outer tail feathers like the Downy. The hairies at our feeders announce themselves with loud PEEK! David, Jan and I recently watched a male hairy woodpecker at a feeder in Portland, Oregon. The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America: Second Edition, The Sibley Guide to Birds - Second Edition, The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America: Second Edition, differences in the black-and-white pattern, A new clue for identifying Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, Identifying Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers by drumming sounds, Distinguishing male and female American Goldfinches, http://www.birds.cornell.edu/crows/woodhead.htm, New Product – A ten pack of greeting cards with art and text from my newest book, Scarlet Tanagers are bright red – but this one is yellow, A Cerulean-like song variant of Black-throated Blue Warbler, Exhibit of original art from "What it's like to be a bird" - Canton, MA, Virtual event: Master Class for 92Y - What It’s Like to Be A Bird. Learning More About Identifying Birds Use a field guide. We are all familiar with the adorable Downy Woodpecker most often seen at our backyard feeders. In a previous post I wrote about differences in the black-and-white pattern on the neck of Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, and in comments there Dan Lane reminded me of a difference in the pattern of red on the nape of males, that I’ve heard about over the years but never really investigated. The field identification of the Downy Woodpecker vs. the Hairy Woodpecker can be tricky at best. Hi Dan, Thanks for the comment. Head shape is another good distinguishing mark – Hairy has a higher, pointed crown; Downy has a flatter crown, more like the crown flows into the neck. 4:58. Previous posts have indicated that the black bar may be very thin or may only be visible from directly behind the nape, but, on this bird, there was no line, even from directly behind. A couple hours later on a trail outside Flagstaff AZ, a male hairy woodpecker near ground level on a trailside pine not 30 feet away gave me easy viewing. Thanks, Pingback: Getting down with the Downy Woodpecker - wcn247.com, There’s an interesting Downy/Hairy woodpecker in this checklist: Required fields are marked *. Hi Jean, brownish color on the outer tail feathers of woodpeckers is usually staining from the feathers constantly being pressed and dragged across the bark of trees. Wish I knew what kind they are and are there a lot of them in northern Michigan!!! While I have never seen a male Downy with a vertical stripe, I have on one occasion seen a female Downy with a vertical stripe. Jean. Also, another feature that can be useful in separating the two in male plumage is the red on the nape: in Downy it’s whole across the nape, but in Hairy, it’s split down the middle by a black stripe (connecting the black crown and lower neck). Or am I seeing a different wood pecker?I have never seen a downy with so much red. Perhaps birders out there, particularly in the West, can comment more on the variation (or lack thereof) of this red nape-spot pattern within Downies and Hairies? And of course I’d also be interested to hear from anyone else who has anything to add on this point. Your email address will not be published. Hairy and downy woodpeckers share most of the same habitats. It seems the Hairies do not have any that I can see on the underside of the tail. Here in CT, all the adult male hairies I’ve seen have the black vertical stripe through the red patch, though the black stripe is very thin, almost like a “hairline” stripe. I have a male hairy woodpecker in my yard this winter. Thus, it seems that there is a black-foreheaded morph of female Yellow-bellied Sapsucker that has not really been addressed in field guides. The two California samples each diverge from the normal duration for the species: Hairy Woodpecker shorter than elsewhere, Downy Woodpecker longer. I wonder how many times in the past I have actually seen a Hairy Woodpecker, thinking it was a Downy! Molecular phylogenies have (if memory serves) shown that Downy’s closest relative is Ladder-backed, and Hairy’s is Arizona Woodpecker. I saw an interesting Downy Woodpecker last fall–so interesting that I sketched it in a notebook. Downy Woodpecker (left) and Hairy Woodpecker (right). There is no mention of the banding on the tail feathers. 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. That one is clearly a Hairy, but listed by the birder as a Downy (the same list also has a Veery photo listed as a Hermit Thrush). They will typically move up tree trunks or along large branches while leaning back against their stiff tail feathers and springing upward with both feet at the same time. Of the two species the Downey is the smaller (not much use unless they happen to be side by side or you have already seen each type and can tell at a glance what you remember seeing.) I became alert to the black stripe on male Hairy Woodpeckers as a result of a feeder bird count in the St. Croix River valley on the MN-WI border. Downy woodpeckers are small, only about 6-7 inches in length, while hairy woodpeckers are larger, usually 9-11 inches in length. Downy Woodpecker 1-1-2012 Andover Backyard. As the smallest woodpecker in North America, this little cutie is familiar to even non-birders, with a nationwide distribution that extends up to Canada and Alaska. These Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers appear nearly identical, but the Hairy Woodpecker is larger than the Downy, with a distinctly longer bill. Both Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers can be attracted with bird feeders, though Downy’s are more common at feeders. The full white band may be more frequent in Downy than Hairy Woodpecker, but that needs confirmation. Maybe that’s because I’ve always lumped males and females together. Anyone know? Gouache painting copyright David Sibley. Vocally, this makes sense. Some individuals of both species have the white eyebrows meeting around the back of the head, while others don’t (as shown here).