Hairy Woodpecker
Encyclopedia
The Hairy Woodpecker is a medium-sized woodpecker
, averaging approximately 250 mm (9.75 inches) in length with a 380 mm (15 inch) wingspan. With an estimated population in 2003 of over nine million individuals, the Hairy Woodpecker is listed by the IUCN as a species of least concern
in North America.
forests in the Bahamas, Canada
, Costa Rica
, El Salvador
, Guatemala
, Honduras
, Mexico
, Nicaragua
, Panama
, Puerto Rico
, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Turks and Caicos Islands
, and the United States
. Mating pairs will excavate a hole in a tree, where they will tend to, on average, four white eggs.
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Adults are mainly black on the upper parts and wings, with a white or pale back and white spotting on the wings; the throat and belly vary from white to sooty brown, depending on subspecies. There is a white bar above and one below the eye. They have a black tail with white outer feathers. Adult males have a red patch or two side-by-side patches on the back of the head; juvenile males have red or rarely orange-red on the crown.
The Hairy Woodpecker measures from 18–26 cm (7.1–10.2 in) in length, 33–43 cm (13–16.9 in) in wingspan and 40–95 g (1.4–3.4 oz) in weight. It is virtually identical in plumage to the much smaller Downy Woodpecker
. The Downy has a shorter bill relative to the size of its head which is, other than size and voice, the best way to distinguish them in the field. These two species are not closely related, however, and are likely to be separated in different genera
. The best way to tell the two species apart other than the size is the lack of spots on its white tail feathers (which the Downy has). Their outward similarity is a spectacular example of convergent evolution
. As to why this convergence has evolved, only tentative hypotheses have been advanced; in any case due to the considerable size difference, ecological
competition between the two species is rather slight.
These birds are mostly permanent residents. Birds in the extreme north may migrate
further south; birds in mountainous areas may move to lower elevations.
These birds forage on trees, often turning over bark or excavating to uncover insect
s. They mainly eat insects, also fruit
s, berries and nuts, sometimes tree sap. They are also known to peck at wooden window frames and wood sided homes that may house bugs.
Woodpecker
Woodpeckers are near passerine birds of the order Piciformes. They are one subfamily in the family Picidae, which also includes the piculets and wrynecks. They are found worldwide and include about 180 species....
, averaging approximately 250 mm (9.75 inches) in length with a 380 mm (15 inch) wingspan. With an estimated population in 2003 of over nine million individuals, the Hairy Woodpecker is listed by the IUCN as a species of least concern
Least Concern
Least Concern is an IUCN category assigned to extant taxon or lower taxa which have been evaluated but do not qualify for any other category. As such they do not qualify as threatened, Near Threatened, or Conservation Dependent...
in North America.
Range
The Hairy Woodpecker inhabits mature deciduousDeciduous
Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
forests in the Bahamas, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
, El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
, Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
, Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
, Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Turks and Caicos Islands
Turks and Caicos Islands
The Turks and Caicos Islands are a British Overseas Territory and overseas territory of the European Union consisting of two groups of tropical islands in the Caribbean, the larger Caicos Islands and the smaller Turks Islands, known for tourism and as an offshore financial centre.The Turks and...
, and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Mating pairs will excavate a hole in a tree, where they will tend to, on average, four white eggs.
Description
The Hairy Woodpecker measures from 18–26 cm (7.1–10.2 in) in length, 33–43 cm (13–16.9 in) in wingspan and 40–95 g (1.4–3.4 oz) in weight. It is virtually identical in plumage to the much smaller Downy Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
The Downy Woodpecker is a species of woodpecker, the smallest in North America.- Description :Adult Downy Woodpeckers are mainly black on the upperparts and wings, with a white back, throat and belly and white spotting on the wings. There is a white bar above the eye and one below. They have a...
. The Downy has a shorter bill relative to the size of its head which is, other than size and voice, the best way to distinguish them in the field. These two species are not closely related, however, and are likely to be separated in different genera
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
. The best way to tell the two species apart other than the size is the lack of spots on its white tail feathers (which the Downy has). Their outward similarity is a spectacular example of convergent evolution
Convergent evolution
Convergent evolution describes the acquisition of the same biological trait in unrelated lineages.The wing is a classic example of convergent evolution in action. Although their last common ancestor did not have wings, both birds and bats do, and are capable of powered flight. The wings are...
. As to why this convergence has evolved, only tentative hypotheses have been advanced; in any case due to the considerable size difference, ecological
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
competition between the two species is rather slight.
These birds are mostly permanent residents. Birds in the extreme north may migrate
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
further south; birds in mountainous areas may move to lower elevations.
These birds forage on trees, often turning over bark or excavating to uncover insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s. They mainly eat insects, also fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
s, berries and nuts, sometimes tree sap. They are also known to peck at wooden window frames and wood sided homes that may house bugs.
External links
- Hairy Woodpecker - Picoides villosus - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
- Hairy Woodpecker Species Account - Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Hairy Woodpecker Information and Photos - South Dakota Birds and Birding
- Hairy Woodpecker, Bird sound