Downy Woodpecker

LC - Least Concern

N5 - Secure

SNR - Unranked

not listed

Downy Woodpecker is the smallest woodpecker in North America. It is 5¾″ to 7″ long, weighs ¾ oz. to 1 oz., and has a 10″ to 12″ wingspan. It is as long or only slightly longer than a backyard suet feeder.

The back and belly are white to grayish-white. The wings are black with white bars. The tail is mostly black. The outer tail feathers are white with a few black spots.

The head is black with a white bar above and below each eye. The throat is white. There is a conspicuous tuft of white hairs at the base of the bill. The bill is short and stubby, much shorter than the length of the head. Males have a small red patch on the nape of the neck. Juvenile males have a red patch on the forehead but no red patch on the nape of the neck. Females do not have a red patch, either on the forhead or on the nape.

5¾″ to 7″in length

12″ wingspan

Hairy Woodpecker (Leuconotopicus villosus) is a larger bird, 8″ to 9½″ long. It is significantly longer than a backyard suet feeder. The outer tail feathers do not have black spots. The bill is much longer, almost as long as the head.

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius) is a larger bird, 7″ to 9″ long. The back is black-and-white barred. The lower breast and belly are washed with yellow. The belly is faintly barred. There is a large and conspicuous white patch on the wing. The forehead and forward part of the crown is red. There is no red on the nape of the neck. Males have a red chin.

Deciduous and mixed forests, especially in birch stands; orchards.

The male and female excavate a nest hole in a dead tree or dead limb of a live tree. Excavation takes from 1 to 3 weeks, then the hole is lined with wood chips. The entrance hole is often on the underside of the stub of a fallen branch.

The female usually lays 4 or 5 eggs, sometimes as few as 3 or as many as 8. The eggs hatch 11 to 13 days later. The young stay in the nest 18 to 21 days.

There is only one brood per year. A new nest is excavated each year.

Insects and insect eggs and larvae; berries; acorns; grains; suet and black oil sunflower seeds at bird feeders.

Common year-round resident

The Minnesota Ornithologists’ Union All Seasons Species Occurrence Map

Downy Woodpecker was formerly classified as Picoides pubescens. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2015 showed that the genus Picoides was not properly restricted (not monophyletic). Downy Woodpecker and four other species were placed in the newly resurrected genus Dryobates.

Woodpecker, Maplewood Hts Park

A morning greeter at Nerstrand Big Woods SP

Adult male

Adult female

A little male Downy Woodpecker perched on a deer antler.

Report a sighting of this bird.

Location: Maplewood Nature Center

Location: Norman Co. Mn.

adult male

I am often amazed that these small woodpeckers and other non-migratory birds / mammals are able to survive the sometimes brutal winter conditions.   However- some do.  

Location: in the woods near the Wild Rice River in Norman Co. Mn.

adult female

Location: in the woods near the Wild Rice River in Norman Co. Mn

A little male Downy Woodpecker perched on a deer antler.

Woodpecker, Maplewood Hts Park

Location: Nerstrand Big Woods State Park

A morning greeter at Nerstrand Big Woods SP

Location: Louisville Twp (Shakopee area)

They've been occasional visitors this year to our bird feeders. One with black sunflowers seeds & the other with blended bird feed.

Location: Edenbrook Conservation Area

Location: Edenbrook Conservation Area

Location: Purgatory Creek Park