This is a male Downy Woodpecker. How do you know? He could be a Hairy Woodpecker. The two species are notoriously difficult to distinguish.
The red patch at the back of his head tells you he's male.
The suet block is about 4" inches (I measured one), which tells you that this bird is about that size. Too small for a Hairy. He has a short, rather stubby bill, relative to the size of his head. Too small for a Hairy. If you look closely at the white feathers to the outside of his tail, you'll see black bars. Hairys' tails have solid white feathers.
(Cool thing about this picture. If you look at his bill, you can see his tongue. Woodpecker tongues are specialized. They're like little harpoons. The bird will knock a hole in the wood, then tongue-spear the bug that he's hunting.)
If you've read any of the previous bird posts, you probably know that the Downy is not a new bird to me. They've been coming to my feeder for years. But I've never seen a Hairy Woodpecker.
The red patch at the back of his head tells you he's male.
The suet block is about 4" inches (I measured one), which tells you that this bird is about that size. Too small for a Hairy. He has a short, rather stubby bill, relative to the size of his head. Too small for a Hairy. If you look closely at the white feathers to the outside of his tail, you'll see black bars. Hairys' tails have solid white feathers.
(Cool thing about this picture. If you look at his bill, you can see his tongue. Woodpecker tongues are specialized. They're like little harpoons. The bird will knock a hole in the wood, then tongue-spear the bug that he's hunting.)
If you've read any of the previous bird posts, you probably know that the Downy is not a new bird to me. They've been coming to my feeder for years. But I've never seen a Hairy Woodpecker.
Until today, that is.
Last fall, I tired of the near-collisions with the feeder stand in the front yard (next to the driveway). So I moved it to the back yard. It's been a wonderful success. (I think I saw an Eastern Bluebird out there, today. We're well out of the Bluebird's Winter range, but the Great Backyard Bird Count (last weekend) lists them in the area.)
This is a male Hairy Woodpecker. You can't see the red patch in this image, but it's there. You can't estimate his size from this image, but I can attest that he's larger than the Downy. You can see his longer, thicker bill, and the unbarred white feathers at the side of his tail.
Awesome.
Last fall, I tired of the near-collisions with the feeder stand in the front yard (next to the driveway). So I moved it to the back yard. It's been a wonderful success. (I think I saw an Eastern Bluebird out there, today. We're well out of the Bluebird's Winter range, but the Great Backyard Bird Count (last weekend) lists them in the area.)
This is a male Hairy Woodpecker. You can't see the red patch in this image, but it's there. You can't estimate his size from this image, but I can attest that he's larger than the Downy. You can see his longer, thicker bill, and the unbarred white feathers at the side of his tail.
Awesome.
