They utter a tick, tchick, tcherrick, and both the male and the female add a sharp whinnying call during the nesting season. The drumming serves as a means of communication between the members of the pair as well. The salivary glands produce a sticky, glue-like substance that coats the tongue and, along with the barbs, makes the tongue an efficient device for capturing insects.Īs early as February or March a Downy Woodpecker pair indicate that they are occupying their nesting site by flying around it and by drumming short, fast tattoos with their bills on dry twigs or other resonant objects scattered about the territory. The pelvic bones are wide, allowing for attachment of muscles strong enough to move and hold the tail, which is important for climbing.Īnother special anatomical trait of woodpeckers is the long, barbed tongue that searches crevices and cracks for food. A covering of feathers over the nostrils keeps out pieces of wood and wood powder. The straight, chisel-shaped bill is formed of strong bone overlaid with a hard covering and is quite broad at the nostrils in order to spread the force of pecking. Most of the special features of their anatomy are associated with the ability to dig holes in wood. Woodpeckers are a family of birds sharing several characteristics that separate them from other avian families. The Downy’s name refers to the soft white feathers of the white strip on the lower back, which differ from the more hairlike feathers on the Hairy Woodpecker.

And the Downy’s bill is shorter than its head, whereas the Hairy’s bill is as long as or longer than its head length. The Downy is about 6 cm smaller than the Hairy, measuring only 15 to 18 cm from the tip of its bill to the tip of its tail. The Downy’s outer tail feathers are barred with black, unlike the Hairy Woodpecker’s, which are all white. The Downy Woodpecker looks much like the larger Hairy Woodpecker Picoides villosus, but there are some differences between them. The male has a small scarlet patch, like a red pompom, at the back of the crown. Male and female Downy Woodpeckers are about the same size, weighing from 21 to 28 g. The crown of the head is black the cheeks and neck are adorned with black and white lines. Its wings are checkered in a black and white pattern that shows through on the wings’ undersides, and the breast and flanks are white. This woodpecker is black and white with a broad white stripe down the back from the shoulders to the rump. It is also the most common woodpecker in eastern North America. The smallest and perhaps most familiar species in Canada is the Downy Woodpecker Picoides pubescens. Of the 198 species of woodpeckers worldwide, 13 are found in Canada.

Downy woodpecker diet