Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Hairy or Downy

Except for size they look very much alike.
The Hairy Woodpecker is a medium sized bird
7-10 inches long
who is often seen clinging to an old stump or tree

He likes to explore for bugs in holes
left by other woodpeckers.

You can hear them drumming on the hard surface
to get the bugs to move around

Their three toed feet easily can cling to the side of a trunk

Black and white plumage with white under belly and
white stripes on face


The male has the red on back of head, female does not

An interesting bird to watch... and listen for

You hear his song and drumming HERE

I believe you can see his tongue in this picture below.
very similar is the Downy Woodpecker who often
frequents the feeders. He is 6-7 inches long
and has a smaller bill. He is the smallest woodpecker


9 comments:

Lynne at Hasty Brook said...

This is a terrific series of pictures!

Ruth's Photo Blog said...

Great set of pictures and very infomative notes.

Anonymous said...

I have only one or two hairy woodpeckers here or had them here and never got a shot. I got all the others but this one I will have to coax next year.

Shelley said...

Great photos of the downy & hairy in action!

NCmountainwoman said...

Great photographs! We have both Hairys and Downys and we do so enjoy them.

Tina said...

Your photos are very nice and he seemed to not mind you taking his picture!! I would probably only get one or two and he would have flown away!! I LOVE the one of his tongue sticking out! Nice sequence of views!

Marsha said...

Great series of photos show casing the hairys. I have both kinds here too...they are so fun to watch and they do love their suet.

The Birdlady said...

Great shots! Very cool to get his tongue.

Peggy said...

Very cute! I actually had it the other way around, I thought "hairy" was shorter bill...Thanks for the info! Loved the tongue shot!

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