Picoides pubescens
downy woodpecker

Downy woodpeckers are found throughout North America, from southeastern Alaska east to Newfoundland, extending south to southern California and Florida. The majority of downy woodpeckers throughout the geographic range are year-round residents. Some populations are locally migratory, especially those along the Atlantic coast. (Jackson and Ouellet, 2002)

In the northern part of their range, downy woodpeckers favor open deciduous forests and woodlands. This includes mixed, secondary-growth forests of oak-hickory or beech-maple-hemlock. They are less common in conifer-dominated forests unless there is a deciduous understory. Downy woodpeckers are also common in cultivated areas such as orchards, and are sometimes found in urban and suburban settings. In the south, they frequent riparian woods or moist, aspen-willow stands. They are also found in the southern Rocky Mountains. (Jackson and Ouellet, 2002)

Downy woodpeckers are smallest woodpeckers native to North America. They are 14.5 to 17 cm long and weigh 21 to 28 g. They are largely black-and-white; their back is black with white down the center and their wings are black with white spots. The head is black with a white stripe above and below each eye. The tail is black with outer portions of white barred with black. The chest and belly are white to grayish.

Downy woodpeckers have whitish nasal tufts at the base of a thick, black, chisel-shaped bill. Males and females are similar in appearance, but the males have a small red patch on the nape of the neck. Juvenile males usually have a red patch on the forehead and lack red on the nape of the neck. Juvenile females look similar to juvenile males, but lack any red on the forehead or nape.

Downy woodpeckers are commonly confused with hairy woodpeckers (Picoides villosus), which have similar plumage, but are distinctly larger. Downy woodpeckers also have a shorter, stubbier bill (shorter than the length of their head) than hairy woodpeckers. The two species can also be distinguished behaviorally; downy woodpeckers give much less powerful vocalizations and tend to forage on smaller substrates than hairy woodpeckers.

There are eight recognized subspecies of downy woodpeckers. These subspecies are differentiated by geographic range and plumage variation. (Jackson and Ouellet, 2002)

One wild downy woodpecker lived to be 11 years and 11 months old. Most downy woodpeckers probably do not live this long. (Jackson and Ouellet, 2002)

Downy woodpeckers are diurnal and non-migratory. They are solitary, though they are occasionally seed foraging in loose association. Males defend a territory against other males, and females defend a territory against females. When an intruder enters a downy woodpecker's territory, the resident woodpecker uses threat displays, such as wing flicking, or fanning their tail, raising their crest and holding their bill high to try to drive the intruder away. If threat displays do not work, downy woodpeckers may attack the intruder, grappling with them in mid-air. (Jackson and Ouellet, 2002)

Home Range

Home ranges range from from 0.02 to 0.12 square kilometers and vary with habitat quality (smaller home ranges are required in high-quality habitat). Home ranges are smaller during the nestling period, when adults need to remain near the nest. (Jackson and Ouellet, 2002)

Downy woodpeckers use vocalizations and body signals to communicate. They produce a variety of sounds, including "pik", rattle, scolding, "wad", "chirp", squeak, screech, and distress calls. The "pik" call introduces the rattle call, and these are used during aggressive interactions. Short calls, the "wad" and "chirp", are uttered by young birds. A longer note call, the squeak, is also uttered by young downy woodpeckers. The screech and distress calls are used to signal alarm.

Drumming is a common non-vocal sound used by downy woodpeckers to communicate. This sound is heard in most frequently in late winter and spring, and is used to establish and defend a territory, to attract a mate and to communicate between mates.

Downy woodpeckers also use body postures to communicate. Postures exhibited by downy woodpeckers often include some combination of bill pointing and waving, wing flicking, crest raising, wing spreading, tail spreading, head turning and head swinging. (Jackson and Ouellet, 2002)

Downy woodpeckers are omnivorous. Their primary foods include insects and other arthropods, fruits, seeds, sap and some cambium tissue. Beetles, weevils, ants, bugs, plant lice and caterpillars are among the insects eaten. They also consume scale insects and spiders. Downy woodpeckers will also eat suet from backyard feeders.

Downy woodpeckers glean insects from the surfaces of trees, shrubs and large weeds, probe into crevices and excavate shallow holes into wood to find food. Males and females within a population often differ in their foraging habits. For example, in one study in Illinois, males spent more time excavating than females, and females probed bark surfaces more than males.

Downy woodpeckers drink water by scooping it up with their bill. They drink from water that collects on horizontal limb surfaces, in epiphytes, puddles, streams, ponds and bird baths. (Jackson and Ouellet, 2002)

Adult downy woodpeckers are preyed upon by several species of birds of prey. To hide themselves from predators, downy woodpeckers flatten themselves against the surface of the tree bark and remain motionless. Downy woodpeckers may also dodge a hawk by darting behind a tree branch, or winding their way around the branch to avoid the hawk. In urban areas, downy woodpecker predators include rats and domestic cats. Eggs and nestlings are vulnerable to climbing predators such as snakes and squirrels, as well as other woodpeckers, including red-bellied woodpeckers and hairy woodpeckers. By nesting in cavities, downy woodpeckers avoid predation of their eggs and young by animals that cannot get to these cavities. (Jackson and Ouellet, 2002)

Downy woodpeckers affect the populations of the insects they prey upon and the plants they eat. They also provide valuable food for their predators. They are host to several species of body parasites, including hippoboscid flies, muscid flies and blowflies.

Abandoned downy woodpecker nest cavities may be used by other cavity-nesting species.

There are no known adverse effects of downy woodpeckers on humans.

Downy woodpeckers eat wood-boring beetle larvae and other insects that humans consider to be pests. (Jackson and Ouellet, 2002)

Downy woodpecker populations seem to be stable and/or increasing in some areas. There are an estimated 13,000,000 downy woodpeckers worldwide. This species is protected under the U.S. Migratory Bird Act. (Jackson and Ouellet, 2002)