The smallest woodpecker in North America is common year-round in our area, living in deciduous and mixed forests. This bird has a short bill, a white stripe down the back, black wings with white spots, and white under- parts. The males have a small red patch at the back of the head.

While holding a territory of about 7 acres through the winter, a downy pair is not in close contact. In late winter they drum on different trees to renew the pair bond, to attract a new mate, or to communicate to other woodpeckers that this territory is taken. The size of the territory diminishes after the female has picked the nest site.

One can hear a soft irregular chipping sound when a male and female downy woodpecker excavate a nest cavity. They create a new cavity, 8 to 12 inches deep, every year.

Strongly curved toe nails that act as climbing hooks allow this woodpecker to forage for food under bark or in crevices on trees or shrubs, hopping up or down the tree trunks and limbs, digging out grubs and flaking away bark in search of cocoons or egg sacs. They eat insects including click beetles, wood borers, weevils, bark and spruce beetles, tent caterpillars, and woolly aphids. Downys also eat fruit, seeds, sap from sapsucker holes, and may come to feeders for suet or sunflower seeds.

Photo by Doug Backlund