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Downy Woodpecker

Dryobates pubescens

The smallest woodpecker in North America. Males feed more on thin twigs and weed stems, females on bigger branches.

In your real yard: Suet in winter, and dead branches left on trees where it is safe.

Spot it in the game

Lives in the Backyard habitat (Eastern North America).

Downy Woodpecker, Dryobates pubescens — Photo: Mike Duran, CC BY 4.0, via iNaturalist. Cut out from the original photo.

Downy Woodpecker facts

Family: Woodpeckers
Length: 6.3 in (16 cm)
Wingspan: 11 in (28 cm)
Weight: 0.9 oz (25 g)
Diet: Insects and larvae from bark and plant stems, plus berries and seeds.
Range: Most of the United States and Canada, except the driest deserts and the far north.
Nest: A hole the pair digs in a dead branch or trunk, lined only with wood chips.
Song: A soft "pik" call and a high whinny that falls in pitch; it drums fast on wood in spring.
Active: by day
Status: Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: widespread and not at risk.

What the Downy Woodpecker sounds like

Recording 1: Jonathon Jongsma, CC BY-SA 3.0, original on xeno-canto. Trimmed and cleaned of low background noise.

Recording 2: Sam Eh, CC BY 4.0, original on iNaturalist. Trimmed and cleaned of low background noise.

How to attract the Downy Woodpecker

Feeder foods, favorite first: suet, peanuts, sunflower seed. Feeders that hold them: suet cage, tube feeder and platform feeder. Keep a bird bath full, too.

In the game: fill a feeder with suet, peanuts and sunflower seed and keep the bird bath full. It is a common visitor.

More: bird songs and calls, what to feed birds.