Downy woodpecker
Downy woodpecker | |
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Male | |
Female | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Piciformes |
Family: | Picidae |
Genus: | Dryobates |
Species: | D. pubescens
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Binomial name | |
Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766)
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Approximate distribution map
Year-round
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Synonyms | |
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The downy woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens) is a species of woodpecker, the smallest in North America. Length ranges from 14 to 18 cm (5.5 to 7.1 in). Downy woodpeckers primarily live in forested areas throughout the United States and Canada, with the exception of deserts in the southwest and the northern tundra. The bird nests in tree cavities and feeds primarily on insects, although it supplements its diet with seeds and berries. The downy woodpecker is very similar in appearance to the hairy woodpecker, although they are not closely related.
Taxonomy
The downy woodpecker was described and illustrated with a hand-coloured plate by the English naturalist
Despite their close resemblance, the downy and
Seven subspecies are recognized:[8]
- D. p. glacialis (Grinnell, 1910) – southeast Alaska
- D. p. medianus (Swainson, 1832) – central Alaska to east Canada and central and east USA
- D. p. fumidus (Maynard, 1889) – southwest Canada and west Washington
- D. p. gairdnerii (Audubon, 1839) – west Oregon to northwest California
- D. p. turati (Malherbe, 1860) – central Washington to central California
- D. p. leucurus (Hartlaub, 1852) – Rocky Mountains (southeast Alaska to southwest USA)
- D. p. pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) – southeast USA
Description
Adult downy woodpeckers are the smallest of North America's woodpeckers, but there are many smaller species elsewhere, especially the piculets. The total length of the species ranges from 14 to 18 cm (5.5 to 7.1 in) and the wingspan from 25 to 31 cm (9.8 to 12.2 in). Body mass ranges from 20 to 33 g (0.71 to 1.16 oz). Standard measurements are as follows: the wing chord is 8.5–10 cm (3.3–3.9 in), the tail is 4–6 cm (1.6–2.4 in), the bill is 1–1.8 cm (0.39–0.71 in) and the tarsus is 1.1–1.7 cm (0.43–0.67 in).[12][13][14] The downy woodpecker is mainly black on the upperparts and wings, with a white back, throat and belly and white spotting on the wings. There is one white bar above the eye, and one below. They have a black tail with white outer feathers barred with black. Adult males have a red patch on the back of the head whereas juvenile birds display a red cap.
The downy woodpecker is virtually identical in plumage pattern to the larger hairy woodpecker, but it can be distinguished from the hairy by the presence of black spots on its white tail feathers and the length of its bill. The downy woodpecker's bill is shorter than its head, whereas the hairy woodpecker's bill is approximately equal to head length.
The downy woodpecker gives a number of vocalizations, including a short pik call. One may identify the woodpecker by the pik-call, counting half a second between piks (a total of four must be heard). The rattle-call is a short burst that sounds similar to a bouncing ball, while that of the hairy woodpecker is a shorter burst of the same amplitude. Like other woodpeckers, it also produces a drumming sound (sounds like four taps[15] ) with its beak as it pecks into trees. Its drums are slower compared to other North American species.[16]
Behavior and ecology
Downy woodpeckers are native to forested areas, mainly deciduous, of North America. Their range consists of most of the United States and Canada, except for the deserts of the southwest and the tundra of the north. Mostly permanent residents, northern birds may migrate further south; birds in mountainous areas may move to lower elevations.[17]
Downy woodpeckers nest in a tree cavity excavated by the nesting pair in a dead tree or limb. In the winter, they roost in tree cavities. They tend to nest near soft snags,
Downy woodpeckers forage on trees, picking the bark surface in summer and digging deeper in winter. They mainly eat insects, but they also feed on seeds and berries. They are a natural predator of the European corn borer, a moth that costs the US agriculture industry more than $1 billion annually in crop losses and population control.[21][22] In winter, especially, downy woodpeckers can often be found in suburban backyards with mature trees where they feed on suet and shelled peanuts provided by mesh birdfeeders.
Breeding
Downy woodpeckers will start breeding in their first possible season and will return to a site within 2 hectares of where they were born.[20] They breed every year of their mature life, possibly returning to the same nest holes that they used in years prior. Barring the presence of an existing hole, downy woodpeckers will create a cavity in a tree roughly 2.4 to 15.3 m (8 to 50 ft) above the ground,[18] with the male woodpecker pecking the hole for roughly half of the daylight hours, in 20 minute work sessions. The nest hole takes about two or three weeks to create, and normally measures 12 to 15 cm wide and about 20 to 30 cm deep.[20]
A female will typically lay 4-5 white eggs, but can lay up to 7. During waking hours, both birds will incubate, or warm the eggs for 15 minute periods, taking turns in alternating shifts. At night, the male woodpecker typically will rest on the eggs for their continued warmth. This incubation period lasts for about 12 days. When the eggs hatch, the infant woodpeckers weigh about 1.6 grams, which will rise to around 3.2 grams over the course of its first day of life. They will appear fully grown by the 17th or 18th day.[20]
These younger birds are demarcated by tinted red crowns for the males, and striped or white dotted crowns for the females. Eventually, these crowns will turn jet black after they finish moulting in summer. The young males will also gain a bright red dot on the back of their head once they reach adulthood. The adult birds will begin to moult earlier than their young. This process starts when their young still occupy the nest, ultimately culminating with replacement of the two strongest, central feathers. These feathers are maintained to retain the bird's climbing power during the two month moult period. When the moulting ends in September, their plumage will have a slight yellow tinge.[20]
Gallery
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An adult female walking in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
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A downy woodpecker hanging upside down
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Feeding on suet
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Male Dryobates pubescens inOverpeck Park, New Jersey, USA
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Downy woodpecker feeding chicks in New York City, USA
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Female with a leaf caught on her bill in New York City
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Male in New York City
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Bobbing downy woodpecker in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, New York, USA
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Downy Woodpecker Dryobates pubescens in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada.
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Female downy woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens) feeding on sunflower seeds.
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Downy woodpecker foraging at Fresh Pond in Cambridge, MA
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Downy Woodpecker on Feeder
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Pajaro carpintero en Québec ville
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A Downy Woodpecker (male) in Oregon, United States
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Downy Woodpecker, South Meadows Trail, East Hartford, CT USA
References
- . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- ^ Catesby, Mark (1729–1732). The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands. Vol. 1. London: W. Innys and R. Manby. p. 21, Plate 21.
- ^ Linnaeus, Carl (1766). Systema naturae : per regna tria natura, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis (in Latin). Vol. 1, Part 1 (12th ed.). Holmiae (Stockholm): Laurentii Salvii. p. 175.
- ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
- ^ Peters, James Lee, ed. (1948). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 6. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 211.
- PMID 25818851.
- ^ Boie, Friedrich (1826). "Generalübersicht". Isis von Oken (in German). 18–19. Jena. Col 977.
- ^ Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (2020). "Woodpeckers". IOC World Bird List Version 10.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
- PMID 28890006.
- .
- .
- ISBN 978-0-395-72043-1
- ^ Downy woodpecker Species Account
- ^ Downy Woodpecker, Life History, All About Birds - Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- ^ Oklahoma City Community College and Cornell
- ISBN 978-0-679-45122-8.
- ]
- ^ a b c Schroeder, Richard (April 1983). "Habitat Suitability Index Models: Downy Woodpecker" (PDF). Retrieved October 17, 2023.
- ^ Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. "Snags – The Wildlife Tree: The Importance of Snags in Your Neighborhood" (PDF). Retrieved October 17, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e Government of Canada, Public Services and Procurement Canada. "Information archivée dans le Web" (PDF). publications.gc.ca. Retrieved 2023-10-17.
- ^ "The European Corn Borer | The European Corn Borer". www.ent.iastate.edu. Retrieved 2017-11-13.
- ^ "European corn borer - Ostrinia nubilalis (Hubner)". entnemdept.ufl.edu. Retrieved 2017-11-13.
External links
- "Downy woodpecker media". Internet Bird Collection.
- Downy woodpecker - Picoides pubescens - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
- Downy woodpecker Species Account - Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Downy woodpecker photo gallery at VIREO (Drexel University)
- Downy woodpecker Bird Sound at Florida Museum of Natural History