![]() ![]() Roosts are usually 7-20 feet (as much as 5-60 feet) above the ground (Ritchison), in snags or dead limbs of live trees, and sometimes in live trees that are 6-12 inches in diameter (sometimes smaller.) They prefer trees that are not too close to other big trees. They have also been known to roost in fence posts, and artificial snags made of bars of polystyrene mounted vertically on posts. They often hollow out the interior of nestboxes, and may also enlarge the entrance hole of a bluebird box (but can fit in a 1.5" round hole.) I see them going into nestboxes just before dusk. Excavation takes about a week (as short as 3-4 days), depending on how hard the wood is. They usually excavate roosting cavities during the fall, but may do so at any time of year. Roosting: Downies roost singly in cavities year round. They do not migrate, although they may disperse seasonally. Not found in drier habitats in SW, West, or in northern Alaska or Hawaii. Differs from Hairy in quality and power (Hairy call is louder and more explosive.) Comparatively silent during cold winter months.ĭistribution : A very common woodpecker in most parts of the U.S. Song: peck, kweek, queek, sputters, chirps, chips, rattles, whinnies, etc. Nuttall's Woodpecker is slightly smaller and has a barred back, although they may hybridize. Downies are less wary of humans than Hairies, and have a different drumming pattern. Juveniles have a pale or olive-brown iris (adults have a brown or brown-red iris.) Hairy Woodpeckers are larger, and their bill is at least twice as long as the Downy's, and more chisel-like. young males may have reddish or pinkish feather tips on the crown. Fledglings look similar to adults although black areas are more dull or browner, and underparts are more grayish or buffy, and the sides of the breast and flanks are finely streaked. Females and males are similar in size, but females have slightly longer tails. Males have red patch on the back of the head or nape. Throat and underparts are buffy to grayish white. The two central tail feathers are completely black, with outermost tail feathers largely white with some black barring. Identification: 5.5-6.5 inches long, primarily black above with a broad white stripe down the center of the back, and numerous white spots/checks on the wings. They have been seen following White-breasted nuthatches and stealing from their food caches (Sutton 1986).They occasionally drink sap and eat cambium, but the holes they make are smaller, less rectangular, and less deep than sapsuckers, so they do not injure the tree.Males forage more on smaller branches, females on larger branches and tree trunks.While this may seem counterproductive, “nocturnal hypothermia” probably reduces energy expenditure by as much as ten percent. On cold winter nights, Chickadees and Downy Woodpeckers conserve energy by lowering their body temperature by 10 to 15 degrees F.In nonbreeding season, downies will hang in mixed flocks of chickadees, titmice, nuthatches, kinglets and Hairy Woodpeckers, and respond to alarm calls by chickadee or titmice sentinels.Both parents incubate and brood (only males incubate and brood at night.).Downies may excavate for a few minutes up to an hour, usually working 15-20 minutes at a time.Downies are rarely seen bathing in water, although they have been seen "snowbathing." (Merriam 1920).When drumming, Downies hit the substrate about 16-17 times per second.Their tongue is coated with sticky mucus to help nab small insects.The Downy is the smallest North American woodpecker, and the most common (based on BBS and CBC data.). ![]() ![]() Former Downy roosting and nesting cavities may be used by secondary cavity nesters, or enlarged by larger woodpecker species. In a nestbox, they often "excavate" the interior, leaving woodchips behind (and sometimes gray downy feathers from preening.) They may also try to enlarge the entrance hole. However, they often ROOST in nestboxes and artificial snags. NOTE: I have never heard of a Downy Woodpecker NESTING in a nestbox. glacialis, nelsoni, medianus, pubescens, leucurus, gairdnerii and turati) There are eight subspecies of Downies ( P.p. ![]() Nine species of woodpeckers in the Picoides genus are found in North America, including the Hairy Woodpecker. Species : The scientific name for the Downy Woodpecker changed from Picus Pubescens (Linnaeus) to Dryobates pubescens to Dendrocopos pubescens and finally to Picoides pubescens in 1983. A Downy female investigates a nestbox for roosting. ![]()
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