Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)

The Downy Woodpecker is a small and bold woodpecker that can be found near human residence. The back, crown, the back of eyes, bill, legs and feet, and tail woodpecker are black and its underneath is white. The black flight feathers are marked with white spots. The male has a red spot on the back of its head.

The under-tail feathers of the Downy Woodpecker has black markings on white, which is a field marker to tell apart from the Hairy Woodpecker which shares similar appearances. The photo shows the zygodactyl foot of the woodpecker having two toes go forward and other two toes backward, holding on trees tightly in between.

New Marlborough, MA
2009-10-21

This individual was attracted by the peanuts on the bird feeder. The woodpecker is quite bold that it could peck on houses and trees nearby.

Other Picidae species:

Acorn Woodpecker
*Melanerpes formicivorus*

Red-Bellied Woodpecker
*Melanerpes carolinus*

Acorn Woodpecker• American Coot• American Crow• American Robin• American White Ibis• American White Pelican• Anhinga• Audubon's Warbler• Black Phoebe• Black-Capped Chickadee• Blue Jay• Boat-Tailed Grackle• Brewer's Blackbird• Brown Pelican• Bufflehead• Canada Goose• Chestnut-Backed Chickadee• Collared-Dove• Common Gallinule• Common Goldeneye• Common Grackle• Double-Crested Cormorant• Downy Woodpecker• European Starling• Fox Sparrow• Glossy Ibis• Golden-Crowned Sparrow• Graylag Goose• **Great Blue Heron• Great Egret• Herring Gull• House Sparrow• **Killdeer• Least Bittern• Least Sandpiper• Lesser Goldfinch• Limpkin• Lincoln's Sparrow• Mallard• Mourning Dove• Northern Cardinal• Northern Mockingbird• Oak Titmouse• Osprey• Palm Warbler• Pied-Billed Grebe• Purple Finch• Red-Bellied Woodpecker• Red-Breasted Nuthatch• Red-Winged Blackbird• Ring-Billed Gull• Ringed Plover• Ruby-Crowned Kinglet• Sanderling• Sandhill Crane• Semipalmated Sandpiper• Sharp-Shinned Hawk• Short-Tailed Hawk• Snowy Egret• Song Sparrow• Spotted Towhee• Steller's Jay• Tricolored Heron• Trumpeter Swan• Tufted Titmouse• Turkey Vulture• Western Grebe• Western Gull• Western Meadowlark• Western Scrub Jay• **Western Swamphen• White-Breasted Nuthatch• White-Crowned Sparrow• Wild Turkey• Willet• Wood Stork