The Hairy Woodpecker

Description

Hairy Woodpeckers can be anywhere from 6.5 to 10 inches in length. Like the downy woodpecker, colder climates tend to result in larger birds. As it happens, there are over a dozen subcategories of Hairy Woodpecker across the North American continent, down the Central American isthmus and across the Caribbean islands, although even scientists and bird enthusiasts can’t agree on exactly how many; 14, 17 or 21.

Each is differentiated by its size, wingspan and subtle color and pattern variations. In general, the Hairy Woodpecker can be identified by its by its white, off-white, pale grey or tan underbelly, black and white patterned back and wings and the white or pale stripe down the back. They look superficially similar to the Downy Woodpecker but are larger with a bill much longer in proportion to its head than a Downy has. Males may have two little red spots or a red nape patch, females will have no red at all.

Territory

These woodpeckers can be found from Alaska to Central America and from coast to American coast. The Hairy woodpecker prefers evergreen and mixed-forested areas, avoiding open grasslands and desert, and can sometimes be found in urban areas with large quantities of mature trees. They are least commonly found in the southeastern United States. The Hairy woodpecker is generally considered non-migratory, particularly in the north, although they do travel some within the range.

Behavior

Hairy woodpeckers are predators, with an overwhelming majority of their diet consisting of insects. They will glean larvae, beetles, spiders, forage for crickets and even pick flies out of the air. In winter when insects are scarce, they will include pine nuts, berries and sap. These are vigorous foragers year-round but spend more time pecking and chiseling in winter than in summer.

Coupling can be multi-year or even for life, but couple bonds are loose outside of the breeding season. The male selects the nesting site and does most of the excavating. Because they prefer dead branches in live trees or tree trunks with heart rot, it can take three weeks or more to excavate the nest hole. The male roosts with the eggs and stays with the young at night until they leave the nest a month later. Both adults spend an additional two or more weeks with the young after they fledge, but they split the brood between them and go their separate ways.

Adults, with the exception of the males managing the eggs and hatchlings, sleep alone. In some cases they will use old holes, and sometimes they build new ones specifically for roosting. New holes may be excavated when old roosts are lost to other bird species, squirrels or other squatters.

Quick facts

The territory and feeding habits of the Hairy woodpecker and the Downy woodpecker overlap extensively. Nature has worked this out by adapting the smaller Downy woodpecker to foraging on smaller branches closer to the tops of trees or among woody-stemmed weeds. In contracts, the larger Hairy Woodpecker hunts predominantly on larger branches and the trunk. It is usual for the larger species of woodpecker to dominate when woodpecker species overlap, however in this instance it appears that the smaller Downy has the evolutionary advantage. In areas where the Downy range does not overlap with that of the Hairy woodpecker, the Hairy woodpecker is more often found hunting in smaller branches higher in the tree. Presumably this is because the hunting is better there.
In addition to its relationship with the Downy, the Hairy woodpecker is also has an affinity to the Pileated woodpecker. They are attracted to the foraging sites that their powerful cousin strips of bark while chiseling. The Hairy woodpecker will follow behind a Pileated probing and pecking into the bared wood after insects the Pileated overlooked.

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