March 7, 2025

Looking like it is taking a pose at an awards ceremony, a Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) sits in a Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida). It’s waiting for a turn at the suet feeders where it competes with Red-bellied Woodpeckers (Melanerpes carolinus), Tufted Titmice (Baeolophus bicolor), and Chickadees (Poecile). Sometimes I see as many as three Downies wrangling for a place at the feeders.

In the North American world of woodpeckers, the Downy comes in as the smallest. They have a length of 5.5 to 7 inches and weigh just .71 to 1.16 ounces. Like many birds, they are incredibly light in weight because their bones are hollow.

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