THE HAIRY AND DOWNY WOODPECKERS 



By ALICE HALL WALTER 



Tl^e Rational SLQ^ociation of audubon ^ociitm 



EDUCATIONAL LEAFLET NO. 55 



Of the three hundred and fifty kinds of Woodpeckers which occur 



„. ... throughout the world, with the e.xception of Madagascar and the region 

 Distribution , , ,. ; . , , . , . , ; . 



of Australia, twentj'-four species and thirty-two subspecies are found in 



North America, besides two species which are accidental. The genus 

 Dryobates, to which the Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers belong, is much subdivided, 

 and, for this reason, the geographical distribution of the species and subspecies com- 

 prising it is a most interesting subject of study. One may travel from Panama and 

 the Gulf of Mexico all through the wooded parts of North America, almost to the tree 

 limit, and be sure of finding some form of the Hairy Woodpecker, while its smaller 

 relative, the Downy, is as widelj' distributed within the boundaries of the temperate 

 zone. Although the Hairy is the less common of the two, both are permanent 

 residents and may be seen at all seasons of the year. 



Diagnostic points to remember about the Hairy and Downy 

 Description Woodpeckers are: (i), that they differ in size but are almost 

 identical in plumage; (2), that the outer tail-feathers of the Hairy 

 are pure white, while those of the Downy are white, barred with black; (3), 

 that the adult males have a bright scarlet nape-patch, which is lacking in the 

 females, while immature birds of either se.x have the crown more or less spotted 

 ■^ithred or yellow; (4), that the difference in the size of the bill is an excellent 

 field-mark; and (5), that the notes and even the "drumming" of the two may 

 be distinguished with practice. 



The trained ear finds Kttle difficulty in detecting the presence- 

 Notes of the unobtrusive Downy, as it works about from tree to tree, 



calling peek, or tap-tapping along the bark with expert bill. When 

 it flies from place to place, the ordinary note is usually quickly reiterated. It 

 is not only softer in quality, but also longer and steadier than the rattle of the 

 Hair}^, and is a fine example of an unbroken diminuendo. 



The "drumming" notes, or roll-calls, of all the Woodpeckers are note- 

 worthy. In spring, the ear is greeted with these reverberating sounds, which 

 tell that the season of courtship and mating is at hand. A dead limb furnishes 

 the drum, and the powerful beak of the player, the stick, unless chance puts 

 ui the way of the performer a tin roof, lightning-rod, telegraph-pole, or 

 some equally attractive metallic instrument, on any one of which the Flicker 

 drums with apparent satisfaction. 



John Burroughs has recorded the instance of a Downy Wood- 

 Hearing pecker which drummed in different keys, by tapping alternately 

 in two places, an inch or so apart on the same branch. This exam- 

 ple of the possible acuteness of the sense of hearing in the Woodpeckers is more 



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