Downy or Bushy? | Exterior My Window

5 March 2024

Final month my buddies and I have been debating the id of a woodpecker photographed by Donna Foyle through the Yard Fowl Rely. Is that this a downy woodpecker or a furry? The picture’s partial view and low gentle situations make it an fascinating ID problem.

First let’s take a look at two clear images of each birds, downy woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens) and furry woodpecker (Dryobates villosus), then speak in regards to the discipline marks.

The downy woodpecker is 3/4 the size of a furry woodpecker and weighs lower than half. Nevertheless, this can be a difficult discipline mark whenever you don’t have each birds subsequent to one another. (*Thanks, Laura, for reminding me within the feedback.)

The simplest discipline mark whenever you’re taking a look at a solo chicken is the size of the beak relative to size of the top.

• The downy’s beak is shorter than his head front-to-back.
• The furry’s beak is similar size as his head front-to-back.

Sadly the chicken in Donna’s picture appears to have an intermediate invoice size. Maybe it was the angle.

The dimensions of the white patch on the downy woodpecker’s neck is bigger than the one on the furry. David Sibley illustrated this clue to their id in an article in 2011. The clue is refined in my comparability images however the chicken in Donna’s picture appears to have a big white patch on its neck. Downy?

The fourth clue is on the again of the male’s head however you want a photograph to see this.

• The pink on the again of the male downy’s head is a steady line.
• The pink on the again of the furry’s head is damaged by a vertical black patch.

The furry’s head picture was the very best I might discover. David Sibley has an excellent illustration at this hyperlink.

And eventually, downy woodpeckers have dots on their outer tail feathers whereas furry woodpeckers have all-white outer tail feathers. Images of lacking white dots weren’t helpful so there’s solely this illustration.

I’ve by no means — ever — seen the tail feather discipline mark as a result of I’m too busy taking a look at beaks.

Kathy Miller had the very best recommendation through the downy-hairy debate, “If I can’t inform which one it’s, it’s a downy.”

(images from Donna Foyle & Wikimedia Commons)