In the cold, blustery days of January, one bird species brings joy and light. Its name alone, downy woodpecker, exudes a sense of warmth, and if you have any trees in your neighborhood, you most likely can find this bird even on the most inhospitable days of winter.
Both males and females sport bright white bellies, black-and-white-striped heads and a black back with white spots on dark wings. The male has a spattering of red on its nape.
Downy refers to the soft, white feathers located on a white stripe down its back.
The downy woodpecker, measuring 5 to 6 inches tall, is the smallest of the woodpecker species that live in Illinois. The diminutive size offers advantages. The downy can forage for food on small branches of trees and shrubs that a large woodpecker like a red-bellied can’t. The downy also clings upside down on tree branches, reminding me of a nuthatch or chickadee. Other larger woodpeckers can’t do that either.
Like other woodpecker species, the downy has two toes in front and two toes in back, one of which it can rotate. This arrangement, unlike that of a robin with three toes in front and one behind, helps the woodpecker grasp tree bark. Its stiff tail feathers enable it to climb up trees. As a woodpecker hoists itself head upward up a tree, you can see those stiff tail feathers at work.
It also has a special weapon, a needled beak that enables it to probe deep into crevices for larvae and eggs of insects spending winter where it’s warmer. The downy also can peck at galls or protrusions on goldenrod plants where insect eggs are lurking.
Its bill is smaller and more finely tipped than other woodpecker species, and that allows it to snatch tiny eggs and insects from leaves and stems.
You can observe these feeding strategies all winter long in your neighborhood, at parks or forest preserves.
The downy woodpecker eats nuts, seeds and berries, but more than 75% of its diet consists of insects. The downy woodpecker eats the beetles that cause Dutch elm disease, as well as the emerald ash borer, which is wreaking havoc on our native ashes.
You can walk your neighborhood or look out your window searching for a downy woodpecker climbing trees and chiseling away for food. But, if you put out some suet, you may get a closer look at this adaptable woodpecker, as well as some other bird species in winter.
We have a small cage hanging from a tree and enjoy watching the downy woodpeckers take their turns feasting on the soft, protein-rich suet within.
Woodpeckers aren’t classified as songbirds and they don’t sing. Rather they drum. Both sexes give a rapid series of drums that communicate their desire to mate or chase away other woodpeckers.
All that pounding seems as if it would cause problems for this tiny bird. But woodpecker species have an adaptation for that as well. It has a long tongue that it can wrap around inside of its skull, creating a cushioning effect. The way the beak meets the skull also acts as a shock absorber.
As spring approaches, you can hear a softer, slower tapping as a downy woodpecker excavates a cavity in a tree to create a home for its young. The downy woodpecker also whinnies like a miniature horse throughout the breeding season. You can also watch for their flight display on a warm winter day. Males and females fly one in front of the other holding their wings high and slowly flapping them in butterfly fashion.
This active winter species gets me outside to take a walk and get some exercise. I must dress warmly, but the woodpecker makes the best of its year-round attire with all its interesting adaptations.
Sheryl DeVore has worked as a full-time and freelance reporter, editor and photographer for the Chicago Tribune and its subsidiaries. She’s the author of several books on nature and the environment. Send story ideas and thoughts to sheryldevorewriter@gmail.com.
