Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus)

Photos by BarrytheBirder

Male Hairy Woodpecker

Hairy Woodpeckers are medium-sized woodpeckers of forest and woodlands; often visiting gardens and residential areas and parks, but less often than Downy Woodpeckers.   They are found coas-to-coast across lower Canada, all of the USA and upper Mexico.

Foraging mainly on trunks and large branches of of trees, they are mainly insectivore, with over 75% of their diet consisting of larvae from wood-boring beetles, bark beetles, ants, and moths.   They also consume spiders, caterpillars, and, in winter, rely heavily on backyard suet, sunflower seeds, peanuts and tree nuts.   They forage by hammering and excavating trees to find insects.

The Hairy is approximately 50% larger than the Downy Woodpecker (9 1/4" to 6 3/4").

Hairy female

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BarrytheBirder