Downy or Hairy Woodpecker? Measure the Bill Against the Head

These two look almost identical — the same black-and-white chequered wings, the same white back stripe, the same striped face, the same red nape patch on the male. The hairy is bigger, and size on a lone bird tells you nothing.

Two characters settle it, and both are visible at a feeder.

The bill against the head

Compare the length of the bill with the width of the head, front to back.

• Downy — the bill is clearly shorter, roughly a third to a half of the head width. It looks small and delicate, almost stuck on.
• Hairy — the bill is about as long as the head is wide. It looks substantial, like a proper chisel.

Once you have compared a few, the downy's bill reads as comically undersized and the hairy's as businesslike. This is the character every field guide leads with and it is the right one.

The outer tail feathers

Look at the outermost white tail feathers.

• Downy — small black spots or bars on the white.
• Hairy — clean white, unmarked.

This needs a good look but it is unambiguous when you get one, and it works on a bird at a feeder where the tail is braced against the trunk.

The comparison

The call is worth learning because it separates them instantly and at distance. The downy's is a soft pik and its whinny descends in pitch; the hairy's is a sharper, louder peek and its rattle stays level.

Which one is at your feeder

Almost certainly a downy. It is the smallest woodpecker in North America, the most tolerant of gardens and suburbs, and by a wide margin the commonest at suet.

A hairy will come to suet too, but less often, and it prefers larger trees and more mature woodland. If you have both, the size difference becomes obvious the moment they are on the same feeder — which is exactly the comparison that is missing when you see one alone.

The other black-and-white woodpecker

Red-bellied woodpecker gets confused with both, and it should not: the back is barred black and white like a ladder rather than carrying a clean white stripe, and there is a broad red band running over the nape and crown. It is also considerably larger.

Its name is unhelpful — the red belly is a faint wash you will almost never see, while the red on the head is obvious. People reasonably call it a red-headed woodpecker, which is a genuinely different bird with an entirely crimson head, a solid black back and large white wing patches.

Attracting them

Suet is the answer for all of them, and it works best in winter when insects are scarce.

• Suet in a cage feeder, mounted against a trunk or a pole
• Peanuts and sunflower hearts
• Leave dead limbs standing where it is safe to — they are where woodpeckers feed and nest

They also drum on gutters and flashing in spring, which is display rather than damage. It stops when the pair bond is settled. The full set of characters for telling any of these apart starts with the bill, not the colour — and on woodpeckers the bill is literally the answer.