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;[[:Category:Picoides|Picoides]] villosus | ;[[:Category:Picoides|Picoides]] villosus | ||
==Identification== | ==Identification== | ||
| − | 16·5–26 cm (6½-10¼ in) | + | 16·5–26 cm (6½-10¼ in)<br /> |
'''Males''' have a red patch on the back of the head.<br /> | '''Males''' have a red patch on the back of the head.<br /> | ||
'''Females''' lack this red patch.<br /> | '''Females''' lack this red patch.<br /> | ||
Revision as of 20:48, 23 October 2016
Photo by Marcel Gauthier
Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, Canada
- Picoides villosus
Identification
16·5–26 cm (6½-10¼ in)
Males have a red patch on the back of the head.
Females lack this red patch.
Juvenile and second year birds have red feathers in the crown.
The male usually has a more extensive covering of red feathers than the female.
Variation
Photo by digishooter
Wofford Heights, Kern Co., California, USA, November 2009
White on especially underparts can be replaced by buffy and the white on the back have reduced size in darker forms especially found in Pacific North-West and in Central America
Similar Species
Downy Woodpecker: Hairy Woodpecker has a proportionately larger bill that is about the same length as the head.
Downy Woodpecker has a much smaller, stubbier bill. Hairy Woodpecker lacks dark markings on its outer tail feathers that the Downy has. (This field mark is less useful in the Northwest where darker races of both species exist and these marks are usually present). Hairy usually has a black dividing line at the rear through the red (male) or white area just below the crown, while 99% of Downy Woodpeckers lack that dividing line[2].
Distribution
Nearly universal in North America. In the east north to southern Canada, in the west north to southern Alaska.
Also found in the mountains of Mexico and Central America south to Panama.
Taxonomy
Placed in genus Leuconotopicus by Gill and Donsker.
Subspecies
There are 15 subspecies[1]:
- P. v. septentrionalis: Western North America (Alaska to northern New Mexico)
- P. v. villosus: Eastern North Dakoka to southern Quebec, Nova Scotia, central Texas, Missouri, Virginia
- P. v. terraenovae: Newfoundland
- P. v. sitkensis: Coastal south-eastern Alaska and northern British Columbia
- P. v. picoideus: Queen Charlotte Islands (off British Columbia)
- P. v. harrisi: Coastal southern British Columbia to north-western California
- P. v. audubonii: Southern Illinois to south-eastern Virginia, eastern Texas and Gulf Coast
- P. v. hyloscopus: Western California to northern Baja California
- P. v. orius: Cascade Mountains of British Columbia to south-eastern California and western Texas
- P. v. icastus: South-eastern Arizona and New Mexico through western Mexico to Jalisco
- P. v. jardinii: Central and eastern Mexico to Jalisco, Guerrero and Oaxaca
- P. v. sanctorum: Southern Mexico (Chiapas) and Guatemala to western Panama
- P. v. piger: Northern Bahamas (Abaco, Mores and Grand Bahama)
- P. v. maynardi: Southern Bahamas (Andros and New Providence)
- P. v. extimus: Costa Rica and western Panama
Habitat
A variety of forests (particularly pine), woodlands and suburban gardens.
Behaviour
Diet
Diet consists of insects (mostly wood-boring beetles, berries and acorns. Will also visit bird feeders for peanuts, suet, black oil sunflower seeds .
Breeding
Both sexes excavate a cavity in live wood. The clutch of 3 to 6 eggs are incubated by both adults. Males brood the eggs at night, and females during the day. Eggs hatch in about 14 days, and young birds leave the cavity in about a month. Young birds will accompany adults for the first few weeks before they become independent.
Vocalisation
Descending rattle: kekekekekekeke... A bit lower than Downy Woodpecker (but very similar).
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2016. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2016, with updates to August 2016. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Sibley describing a clue for identification
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved October 2016)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Hairy Woodpecker. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 26 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Hairy_Woodpecker
External Links
