Downy Woodpecker
Dryobates pubescens
SmallCommon
The smallest woodpecker in North America, and the one most likely to come to a
backyard feeder.
The smallest woodpecker in North America, and the one most likely to come to a
backyard feeder.
The Downy Woodpecker's larger twin — and the pair are the classic identification
problem in North American birding.
A woodpecker that spends most of its time on the ground, eating ants. Once you know
that, the bird stops being confusing.
Crow-sized, black, with a flaming red crest. The largest woodpecker in North America
now that the Ivory-billed is gone, and unmistakable when one crosses a clearing.
A woodpecker with a scarlet head and chest that makes rows of neat holes in bark —
and then farms them.