Downy Woodpecker

[sursohog]

---Downy Woodpecker, the smallest of them all.
---Shot in Winnipeg, Fort Whyte Alive

[sheltiesmama]

How tiny. Very good shot

[sursohog]

Originally Posted by sheltiesmama

How tiny. Very good shot

---Thanks for looking and the comment. These guys are really fast and I considered myself lucky to get such a good shot.

Male and female Downy Woodpeckers are about the same size, weighing from 21 to 28 g. The male has a small scarlet patch, like a red pompom, at the back of the crown.

The Downy Woodpecker looks much like the larger Hairy Woodpecker Picoides villosus, but there are some differences between them. The Downy’s outer tail feathers are barred with black, unlike the Hairy Woodpecker’s, which are all white. The Downy is about 6 cm smaller than the Hairy, measuring only 15 to 18 cm (6 to 7 in.) from the tip of its bill to the tip of its tail. And the Downy’s bill is shorter than its head, whereas the Hairy’s bill is as long as or longer than its head length. The Downy’s name refers to the soft white feathers of the white strip on the lower back, which differ from the more hairlike feathers on the Hairy Woodpecker.

[Ella1267]

very cute....we have a wood pecker in our neighborhood that loves satelite dishes....especially around 5 am...sounds like a machine gun.