We’ve seen seven kinds of woodpeckers on our property: downy woodpecker, hairy woodpecker, red-bellied woodpecker, red-headed woodpecker, northern flicker, pileated woodpecker and yellow-bellied sapsucker.
Downy and hairy woodpeckers are lookalike cousins. A downy is 6 inches long, a hairy is 9 inches. Both are white below and have a black back with a white patch down the middle. The white patch distinguishes them from all other woodpeckers. The white tail feathers of the downy have black bars, which are seen as dark spots on the edges.
See the blue dots in the picture of the female downy. The downy has a short bill with nasal bristles. The bill is longer in the hairy and it doesn’t have the bristles.
The males of both species have a red patch at the back of their heads. Downy woodpeckers are common in any woodland habitat. Hairy woodpeckers are present but less common. Both woodpeckers forage for insects along the branches and twigs. They readily come to peanut and suet feeders.
The red-bellied woodpecker is a common bird of mature deciduous woods. It’s a medium-sized bird, about the size of a mockingbird. It has a distinctive black and white striped back and a long bill. The name red-bellied is rather misleading because the belly is tan and the “red” is a pinkish patch at the very bottom of the belly, something not easily seen.
The male has a bright red cap that extends from the forehead to the base of the neck.
The female’s red is only on her neck (middle picture). The birds forage for insects along the trunk and branches of trees. They also eat fruit, berries and seeds. They will come to peanut and suit feeders.
The red-headed woodpecker is uncommon, and its numbers are declining, mainly due to habitat loss. It lives in open woodlands with few trees. It is boldly patterned in red, black and white. It is the only woodpecker with an all-red head. The juvenile can be confusing because its head is brown instead of red. It gradually molts into adult plumage in the fall and winter. The woodpecker feeds on acorns and other nuts, insects, fruit and berries.
The yellow-bellied sapsucker sounds like a cartoon character, but it’s real. It is uncommon and here only in winter. It breeds in the northeastern U.S. and Canada. It looks somewhat like a downy woodpecker but doesn’t have the white patch on its back. The back is barred black and white, and it has a red crown. The yellow belly is not prominent and is seen most often in females as a pale yellow.
Sapsuckers drill horizontal lines of shallow holes in tree bark, then feed on the sap and insects that are attracted to it.
The northern flicker is in our area year-round, but we usually see it only in winter. It is 13 inches long and our second largest woodpecker, after the pileated woodpecker. Unlike other woodpeckers, the flicker forages on the ground. The back and wings are barred black and brown; the breast is whitish or buffy with black spots. It has a wide black breast band. The male has a black line off the base of the bill (malar line). There are two forms (morphs), yellow-shafted and red-shafted. This referrers to the color under the wings and tail. The red-shafted flicker is found in western states. The male has a red malar line. We have seen both forms at our place, with the yellow-shafted more common.
The pileated woodpecker is a large crow-sized, mostly black woodpecker. It has a bright red crest. The male has a red malar line. The woodpecker is uncommon but widespread in mature hardwood forests. We’ve only seen this woodpecker a few times, flying across the property. Maybe our trees weren’t mature enough for them. Cartoonist Walter Lantz used the pileated woodpecker with its red crest and loud call as his model for Woody Woodpecker. Below is a picture my brother sent me from his place in Virginia Beach. The pileated woodpecker was pecking at its image in the car side mirror.
