While the downy is the more common of the two, the population of both birds has increased in recent years. Don’t forget about that.)Īs to which species you have in your yard, Ethan, the answer is most likely both. (Well, you’ll need a bit of practice, too. If the bird is titmouse-size, with a puny beak, it’s our little pal, the Downy Woodpecker. If the bird is the size of a robin, with a big, bad beak, it’s a hairy. Just trust your own powers of observation. First of all, those differences are tricky to see in the field and secondly, they aren’t important. (Who can blame them for that?) Some books point out that there are slight differences in head patterns and in the tail feathers of the two species, but I wouldn’t focus on those things. Hairy Woodpeckers tend to be loners and don’t care to associate with other species and that includes us. And, if approached by a birder, a downy characteristically doesn’t fly off, but instead simply moves to the other side of the tree. Speaking of songbirds: in the winter Downy Woodpeckers will associate with flocks of chickadees, titmice and nuthatches. They are often seen poking around in shrubs, kind of like songbirds. The downy can also be seen on tree trunks, but it will search for food on much thinner branches or on plant stems. It is typically seen foraging on tree trunks or thick branches. While both birds have “woodpecker” in their name, it is the hairy that acts like one the most. The overall impression is that this bird would not have any trouble hacking into a tree, or anything else. By contrast, a hairy’s beak is large and has a serious dagger look to it. If you see a woodpecker, any woodpecker, with a menacing beak, it’s not a downy. It seems better designed for catching flies or nibbling on croissants. Like the bird itself, a Downy Woodpecker’s beak is puny and not very woodpecker-like. But don’t worry I have more clues, and none of them involve squeaky toys or Bigfoot. When they are apart, however, identification is more challenging. And instead of a kid’s toy, think of something big and “hairy.” (Bigfoot might work, but the birds aren’t quite that large.) When the two woodpeckers are in close proximity, the size difference is quite obvious. By contrast, the Hairy Woodpecker is nearly as large as a robin. Only about the size of a Tufted Titmouse, the Downy Woodpecker is, in fact, the smallest woodpecker in all of North America. Even its name, “downy,” sounds small, like a kid’s squeaky toy. The key to identifying the Downy Woodpecker is the size. Sorting out which bird is which is totally doable, with just a few hints…and a bit of practice. (You would think at least one of them would have gone for the paisley look.) No worries, though. These two different species are dressed in nearly identical outfits. But for some reason, there was a total lack of imagination when the Hairy and Downy were invented. Of our state’s seven species of resident woodpeckers, five species (Red-Headed, Red-bellied, Pileated, Northern Flicker and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker) look nothing alike and could easily be picked out of a lineup. This is probably more info about our woodpecker history than you wanted to know, but when you write your eventual doctorial thesis on this very topic, you’ll thank me. This has resulted in the re-growth of the forests and the return of woodpeckers. In reality, woodpeckers don’t much care for pastures, green or otherwise.) In more recent times, farming and lumbering have become less important to the local economy. (BTW, Ethan, “greener pastures” is just an expression old people use. They were eventually forced to leave the Bay State for greener pastures. Without trees, woodpeckers had nothing to peck on. Early settlers had cut down all the forests for lumber or to create farmland. A few centuries ago, trees, and therefore woodpeckers, were in short supply. Conversely, if you aren’t a woodpecker fan, you might want to travel back to the Colonial era. Are the kids in fifth grade still wearing paisley shirts? I’m sure they are, because that’s one fashion that will never go out of style…at least it hasn’t for me.Īnyone who likes woodpeckers is living in the right time period. Since you weren’t even alive when I first wrote about Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, I’ve decided to write you a fresh column. That’s before you were born and back when I was in the fifth grade…or not. After checking my files, it turned out that I actually wrote that particular column in 2002, sixteen years ago. But then I discovered my idea of “recently” was a bit off. When I first received your note I was simply going to send you a copy of a column that I had recently written on this very topic. I’m not sure which one we have in our yard. Right now my biggest challenge is trying to identify a Downy Woodpecker from a Hairy Woodpecker. I’m a new bird watcher who is particularly interested in woodpeckers.
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