Hairy Woodpecker

Hairy Woodpecker, male

About the photographs

About the map

Play sound from this species

Hairy Woodpecker, female

Menu

1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

The most widespread resident woodpecker in North America, the Hairy Woodpecker is one of the most familiar too. It comes readily to bird feeders and is found in a variety of habitats.

Description

• Medium-sized woodpecker.
• Black and white plumage.
• Plain white back.
• Bill thick and rather long.

• Size: 18-26 cm (7-10 in)
• Wingspan: 33-41 cm (13-16 in)
• Weight: 40-95 g (1.41-3.35 ounces)

Sex Differences

Male with red patch on back of head, female with black patch.

Sound

Call note a sharp "peek." Also a harsh rattle. Drum is very fast, with abrupt beginning and end.

Conservation Status

Common and widespread. May be declining slightly in some areas.

Other Names

Pic chevelu (French)
Carpintero-velloso mayor (Spanish)

Cool Facts

• The Hairy Woodpecker shows a great deal of morphological variation across its broad range, with more than 17 recognized subspecies. Northern birds tend to be larger than those farther south. Western birds are dark underneath and have few spots on the wings, while eastern birds are white underneath and have extensive spotting. Hairies in the Rocky Mountains are white below, but have few spots on their wings. Populations on islands often are distinctive.

• Across most of North America the Hairy Woodpecker can be found at a variety of elevations from sea level to high in the mountains. In Central America, it is restricted to the higher mountain forests.

• The Hairy and Downy woodpeckers occur together throughout most of their ranges. The Downy Woodpecker uses smaller branches while the Hairy Woodpecker tends to spend more time on the trunk. It might be thought that the larger woodpecker excludes the smaller one from more productive foraging spots, but it appears that just the reverse is true. In the Bahamas, where the Downy Woodpecker does not occur, the Hairy Woodpecker uses the branches more frequently.

• The Hairy Woodpecker is attracted to the heavy blows a Pileated Woodpecker makes when it is excavating a tree. The hairy forages in close association with the larger woodpecker, pecking in the deep excavations and taking insects that the pileated missed.

Sources used to construct this page:

Jackson, J. A., H. R. Ouellet, and B. J. S. Jackson. 2002. Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus). In The Birds of North America, No. 702 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.