Missouri Woodpeckers

statewide

Wood you care to know?

• Downies are the smallest of our resident woodpeckers.
• Usually recognized by their white back and short bill, they also have two black bars on their white outer tail feathers.
• Males have a red patch on the back of their heads that females lack.
• Each individual has a one-of-a-kind pattern on its head and back.
• They breed wherever there are trees with decayed branches suitable for nesting and foraging.
• Downies often camouflage the nest cavity entrance hole with moss, lichen and fungus.
• Woodland edge and wooded riparian corridors seem especially attractive to these birds.
• They sometimes uses birdhouses for roosting, but not for nesting.
• They commonly visit feeders.

Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus)

Hard-nosed facts

• fairly common statewide
• 7.5 inches in length
• eats mostly insects; occasionally nuts (especially in winter) and sap from sapsucker holes
• lives in mature forests; also well-wooded towns and parks
• nests in cavities excavated in snags
• female and male incubate four eggs for 11 to 15 days
• young fledge in 28 to 30 days
• call is a sharp, loud "peek" or "keek-ik-ik-ik" rattling series
• drums frequently but variably; indistinguishable from downies, except at times by volume

Wood you care to know?

• Hairy woodpeckers look a lot like downy woodpeckers but are slightly larger with longer bills.
• Males have a red patch on the back of their heads that females lack.
• They often forage far from nest sites.
• Male and female pair bonds are strengthened through duet drumming.
• They commonly visit feeders.
• Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus)

Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus)

Hard-nosed facts

• found statewide, but most abundant in northern half of state
• 9 inches long
• eats acorns, fruit, plant and animal material
• breeds in deciduous woodlands and open areas with scattered trees
• nests in cavities excavated in barkless snags or dead stubs on live trees; also uses natural cavities
• female and male incubate four to five eggs for 12