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Downy Woodpecker

Status Common to fairly common resident. Breeds. It is found throughout the province at all seasons but perhaps is more evident in winter, when it comes to feeding stations. It is partially migratory and appears in augmented numbers on our southern islands in fall. It is believed to be less common now than during the early years of this century.

Description Length: 16-18 cm. Adult male: Considerably smaller and with a shorter bill than the Hairy Woodpecker but otherwise practically the same in colour and pattern, with the exception that its white, outer tail feathers are barred with black, those of its larger relative being all white. Adult female: Similar to male but lacks red bar on head.

Breeding Nest: An excavation in a tree; those trees in which drilling is less difficult are apparently favoured. The height at which the nest is built is usually lower than those of the Hairy Woodpecker. Eggs: 3-6, usually 4-5; glossy white. As a rule it nests about 10 days later than the Hairy Woodpecker. A nest in a dead maple contained four fresh eggs on 4 June 1898; and a set of three eggs in a nest at Black River, Kings County, were one-half incubated when examined on 20 June 1916.

Range Breeds in wooded areas from southern Alaska to Newfoundland and south through Florida, the Gulf Coast and southern California. Winters over most of its breeding range.

Remarks A marked change in the public mind has taken place over the years regarding the role of woodpeckers in man's economic pursuits. At the beginning of the twentieth century, woodpeckers were considered injurious to trees, but gradually their worth as destroyers of tree-damaging insects was realized. Winter predation on the codling moth, for example, by Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers was described by C.R. MacLellan (1958):

"The Hairy Woodpecker and the Downy Woodpecker are both important in control of the codling moth in Nova Scotia. In the years 1950 to 1956 these birds reduced the over-wintered larval population on tree tnunks by 52 per cent. Woodpeckers find codling moth larvae by sight and touch. Searching is done at random, with the woodpecker looking for likely spots for cocoons or locating the exact spot by tapping with the beak. After finding the cocoon, the woodpecker either flicks the bark off with its chisel-shaped beak and feeds on the exposed larva or drills a hole through the bark into the cocoon and withdraws the larva with its barbed tongue."

This is the smallest of our woodpeckers. Except for its close resemblance to the Hairy Woodpecker, it is not easily confused with other Nova Scotia woodpeckers.