The Daily Bucket is a place to put your observations of the world around you. Flowers blooming, leaves falling, frost frosting, bugs crawling- each event noted is a drop in the bucket. Please let us know what is happening in your neck of the woods. Leave info on weather, plants, animals, and so on in a comment including, as close as you feel comfortable doing, your location.
Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers are separate species that share a widespread range across most of North America, extending down into Florida in the east and all the way up into Alaska in the west. Most of us have seen at least one and more likely, both of these two species.
Besides inhabiting the same range, these two also share the same overall black and white checkered pattern on their wings, an all white back, plain white breasts, with just a small amount of very light markings on the outer edges. The males of both species have red patches on the back of their heads while the females of both species lack this. What's more, in both species there are small regional plumage variations that occur over different parts of their range, and it's very interesting to me that these regional variations run parallel with each other in both species. Even some of the juveniles of both species share the trait of having a splash of red on their fore heads. I have read that in some cases this forehead color may have a yellowish tint to it but I have never seen that here. It may be one of those regional differences that I spoke of.
Here is an example of juvenile head plumage, in this case a Downy.
The nearly identical color patterns of these two can make identification difficult for beginning birders and I used to have trouble with them myself. But after watching them both together at our feeders countless times over the years I can tell them apart with no more than a glance now. But from time to time someone will ask me which one is which, so I thought a bucket explaining the differences would do no harm. Even though I've no doubt that most of those reading this are already able to distinguish between the two, there may be a new birder or two drop by who might learn something new and besides that, it gives me a good excuse to post up some more woodpecker pics!
If you'll follow me below the fold I'll point out the differences for any who may be having some trouble knowing which one is visiting their feeders.
For me the easiest way to tell them apart is by the size difference. The Hairy is quite a bit larger than the Downy. Hairy's are just over nine inches long from the tip of their beak to the tip of their tail, while Downy's are just under seven. The tiny Downy weighs in at about an ounce and the Hairy is just a bit over twice that. The diminutive Downy, by the way is our smallest woodpecker. The size difference can be difficult to estimate when only one of the two is present. By far the easiest way to tell one from another is to see them both at the same time. When seen together the size difference is easily seen and an ID can be made easily. This pic shows them both as they cling to the feeder pole while waiting their turns at the suet blocks. The difference in their respective sizes can easily be seen here.
But although they both share the same range and they both have a fondness for suet blocks, you obviously won't always see the two of them together at the same time. In that case an ID can still be made though not quite as easily. The difference in the size of their beaks relative to the size of their respective heads is what stands out the most to me. The Downy's beak is approximately half as long as it's head and it seems short for a bird whose beak plays such an important role in finding and collecting it's food.
The Hairy on the other hand sports a much larger beak, particularly in length, that appears, in my eyes anyway, to have a more balanced look in respect to head and body size. It is approximately the same length as the head.
There are some very slight differences in their plumages but they aren't always visible and they aren't a hundred percent reliable even when they are, and you should keep that in mind when trying to ID them based on any of these minor differences. The one that I have found to be the most reliable and most easily seen is that a Downy's white outer tail feathers, when they are visible, can usually be seen to have some black markings on them. But as I mentioned, this trait isn't always visible, even at close range, and depends on how the tail feathers are spread, or not spread, at the time. But it is a trait that does appear to be completely absent in the Hairy's, or one I have never seen anyway, and not from lack of looking for it. Here's a pic of a Downy showing those markings. On this one they are quite easily seen, but on many of them the markings will be much less obvious.
The second most reliable and easily seen difference is that the male Hairy's have a thin black line that separates the two red patches on the back of their head. Every male Hairy that I have ever seen has this black line, though on some it is pencil thin as on the one below and not easily seen. On others it is broad and dark and shows up very well. So far I have never seen a male Downy with this dividing line. But I'm always on the lookout for that first one.
Here is a typical male Downy, notice that there is no line dividing the red patch as on the Hairy's above.
A few bird guides also mention a small black comma shaped mark coming off the shoulder of both species and that it can also be useful in distinguishing between the two birds since the comma is more pronounced and easily seen on a Hairy versus a Downy. But in my experience, using that mark as an indication of species isn't all that reliable either. On some Hairy's, such as the one in the following pic, it does stand out but in many cases, it is indistinguishable from the mark on the Downy's. But if you do see one where it does stand out, you can probably assume it's a Hairy. But don't automatically assume that it isn't one just because it doesn't happen to have it. Some do, some don't.
So what kind of woodpecker is this?
Sunshine and 25 degrees here in mid Mo. this morning. Looks like we are going to loose some of our snow this afternoon as I see it already starting to melt off the barn roof. I have made a promise to help Little Bit build a snowman when the snow gets soft enough to make snow balls so I may disappear for awhile later on, but I'll be back after we finish building Frosty.
What's happening in your neck of the woods?