![]() ![]() I have lost count of how many times I have felt the wind on me, from her wings beating on her way to the feeders. While I’m hanging the feeders, she can hardly wait. The same female has been frequenting my feeders every season for a couple of years now and she sure lets me know when she is hungry. When I put my feeders out in the morning, I usually hear the short calls of the hairy woodpeckers. The downy’s drum is slightly slower than that of the hairy, about nine to sixteen beats per minute. The hairy woodpecker’s drum sound is a very fast buzzing and usually slows down toward the end. The males and females of both species will use their bills to drum on trees as a way of communicating. See also July in Maine: What Types of Birds Can I Expect to See?Īlso, listen for different drumming sounds. The downy woodpecker contact call is a short, gentle flat pik sound that starts out in a rapid string of high-pitched notes that descend in pitch toward the end. They also have a sharp rattle that stays at one pitch, described as a rapid high kweek sound. ![]() When agitated, this is described as being a stuttering peek sound. Hairy woodpeckers have a contact call that is a short and sharp peek or peech sound. However, if you listen carefully, you can hear the slight differences in their calls. Downy woodpeckers move horizontally and downwards on trees with more ease than most other woodpeckers.īoth of these species have short, sharp calls. They move quickly over tree trunks, and branches, leaning with stiffened tail feathers for support. You can find downy woodpeckers in open woodlands, particularly with deciduous trees. They will typically move up tree trunks or along large branches while leaning back against their stiff tail feathers and springing upward with both feet at the same time. Although, hairy woodpeckers prefer mature woods with large trees and abundant insects. Hairy and downy woodpeckers share most of the same habitats. Take notice of the red marking on the top of this juvenile male hairy woodpecker’s head. You can probably get a better picture by identifying which species you are observing, while at nesting sites or when these birds are visiting your feeders. Young birds can have extra black marks or white stripes as well. Young hairy woodpeckers will sometimes have a yellow patch. As the males of both of these species have red coloring on the backs of their heads, fledglings will have red on the top of their heads. While observing these birds, it is also important to take note of fledglings, in order to minimize further confusion. The downy’s mark is often less obvious, but can sometimes be a useful distinguishing mark.Ī male hairy woodpecker on the left and a male downy woodpecker on the right. Another good question, what is the adaptive advantage to juveniles showing red here? Must have something to do with the identification of nestlings and juveniles by parents, but I have yet to see a study on this topic.Another color pattern aiding in identification pertains to the “comma mark.” The hairy woodpecker has a distinct, well-developed “comma-shaped” black mark that extends from the shoulder onto the breast. In the Identification Guide I indicate (and will be indicating in the soon-to-be released 2nd edition) only that juveniles without red can be reliably sexed females and those with "extensive red" can be sexed males, which leaves a lot of room for further study. So, based on this quick assessment, I suspect Aaron's bird is actually a female, although without a more thorough analysis I'd probably go with unknown sex for now. Based on seat-of-the-pants analysis along with a pinch of gut instinct, I would consider these HAWOs to be juvenile males: M元0930911, ML60049021, ML150081921 whereas I'd consider these to be juvenile females: ML107288031, ML105861971, ML242064761, as well as those with little or no red in the crown, e.g., ML105861441. It is also often accompanied by white flecks, a plumage trait also not found in adults. The extent of red in the crown of juvenile HAWOs does vary a lot.
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