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The Hairy Woodpecker
The Hairy Woodpecker (Dendrocopos villosus) is nearly three times
the size of the Downy. With exception of outer tail feathers, these two
woodpeckers are almost identical. They are the only common ones with clear
white backs, and spotted with white on the wings. The male has a small red
patch on the back of the head, which is lacking on the smaller female. The
bill of the Hairy is larger than that of the Downy. For positive
identification, look for the spread tail in flight. The outer tail feathers
of the Hairy are solid white, while the Downy's is white with black spots
or bars.
The Hairy Woodpecker is a species of the forests and orchards, and is seen
less frequently in the vicinity of homes than his smaller cousin. The female
chips a nest out of a dead limb or trunk. The entrance is two inches in
diameter, and the cavity is up to sixteen inches in depth. The entrance is
at a height varying from five to fifty feet above the ground. She lays three
to five white eggs, and their incubation and care of the young is shared by
the male. The young soon look like their parents. Mills writes, "Here in
the heart of things they execute a moderately roomy nest, and they peck out
a deep hole in a dead tree for winter shelter. Generally neither nest nor
hole is used longer than a season; but these abandoned holes are used by
many other birds that prefer wooden walled homes and shelters, but cannot
construct them. Chickadees and bluebirds often nest in them; screech owls
frequently philosophize within these retreats. On bitter cold nights these
holes shelter and save birds of many species."
The Hairy Woodpeckers are guardians of our forests and woodlands, for their
food is almost entirely insects of bark or dead trees. They feed the year
round on woodborers. These they detect, and then drill holes into which they
insert their barb tipped, extensible tongues and withdraw the larvae and
grubs from their tunnels. The late E. Laurence Palmer recommends the erection
of nest sites and protection of existing ones to assure availability of this
valuable species.
"Wood boring beetles, both adults and larvae, are conspicuous in their diet"
writes Mr. Beal, "and with them are associated many caterpillars, mostly
species that burrow into trees. Next in importance are the ants that live
in decaying wood, all of which are sought by woodpeckers and eaten in great
quantities. Many ants are particularly harmful to timber, for if they find
a small spot of decay in the vacant burrow of some wood-borer, they enlarge
the hole, and as their colony is always on the increase, continue to eat
away the wood until the whole trunk is honey combed. Morever, these insects
are not accessible to other birds, and could pursue their career of
destruction unmolested were it not for the woodpeckers."
Mated pairs of the Hairy Woodpeckers drum back and forth year round to
maintain contact. In Autumn, each partner stakes out a separate territory;
then the female raps a loud "Come thither", which the male answers and later
comes to join her. Like the Downy, they put on an amorous display reminiscent
of spring courtship, chasing each other in high joyful loops. After a few
days, the male returns to the solitude of his own grounds until spring
returns.
This species ranges in the tree belt from Alaska to Newfoundland and south
to northern Mexico and through Florida.
-- by Marie L. Atkinson
REFERENCES:
National Geographic,
Field Guide to Western Birds, by Roger Tory Peterson
Out of Doors in the West, by Dr. J. H. Paul
Handbook of Nature Study, by E. Laurence Palmer
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