christopher.binning
Male and Female Downy Woodpeckers (Picoides pubescens)
She is scolding him for spending too much time at the feeder which is just out of view in this shot.
Interesting Facts:
The Downy is the smallest North American woodpecker, and the most common (based on BBS and CBC data.)
Their tongue is coated with sticky mucus to help nab small insects.
When drumming, Downies hit the substrate about 16-17 times per second. Drumming can last 0.25-1.8 seconds. (Ritchison). They primarily drum from Feb-July.
Downies are rarely seen bathing in water, although they have been seen "snowbathing." (Merriam 1920)
Downies may excavate for a few minutes up to an hour, usually working 15-20 minutes at a time.
Both parents incubate and brood (only males incubate and brood at night.)
In nonbreeding season, downies will hang in mixed flocks of chickadees, titmice, nuthatches, kinglets and Hairy Woodpeckers, and respond to alarm calls by chickadee or titmice sentinels.
On cold winter nights, Chickadees and Downy Woodpeckers conserve energy by lowering their body temperature by 10 to 15 degrees F. While this may seem counterproductive, “nocturnal hypothermia” probably reduces energy expenditure by as much as ten percent.
Males forage more on smaller branches, females on larger branches and tree trunks.
They occasionally drink sap and eat cambium, but the holes they make are smaller, less rectangular, and less deep than sapsuckers, so they do not injure the tree.
They have been seen following White-breasted nuthatches and stealing from their food caches (Sutton 1986).
Male and Female Downy Woodpeckers (Picoides pubescens)
She is scolding him for spending too much time at the feeder which is just out of view in this shot.
Interesting Facts:
The Downy is the smallest North American woodpecker, and the most common (based on BBS and CBC data.)
Their tongue is coated with sticky mucus to help nab small insects.
When drumming, Downies hit the substrate about 16-17 times per second. Drumming can last 0.25-1.8 seconds. (Ritchison). They primarily drum from Feb-July.
Downies are rarely seen bathing in water, although they have been seen "snowbathing." (Merriam 1920)
Downies may excavate for a few minutes up to an hour, usually working 15-20 minutes at a time.
Both parents incubate and brood (only males incubate and brood at night.)
In nonbreeding season, downies will hang in mixed flocks of chickadees, titmice, nuthatches, kinglets and Hairy Woodpeckers, and respond to alarm calls by chickadee or titmice sentinels.
On cold winter nights, Chickadees and Downy Woodpeckers conserve energy by lowering their body temperature by 10 to 15 degrees F. While this may seem counterproductive, “nocturnal hypothermia” probably reduces energy expenditure by as much as ten percent.
Males forage more on smaller branches, females on larger branches and tree trunks.
They occasionally drink sap and eat cambium, but the holes they make are smaller, less rectangular, and less deep than sapsuckers, so they do not injure the tree.
They have been seen following White-breasted nuthatches and stealing from their food caches (Sutton 1986).