The Downy Woodpecker :: Woodpeckers Birds Animals Wildlife Essays

The Downy WoodpeckerHabitatDownies take fireside in the United States and southern Canada. They stir beenrecorded at elevations of up to 9,000 feet. The downies atomic number 18 not deep-forested sibilations, preferring deciduous channelises. Open woodlands, river groves, orchards,swamps, farmland, and suburban backyards are alone favorite haunts of the flossy.Downies get out in addition nest in city parks. about(predicate) the only place you wont find themis deserts. The most attractive human legal residence sites are woodlands broken up bylogged patches in a waterside area. Downies alike enjoy open shrubbery withgroves of young deciduous trees.Call(s)Like the hairy woodpecker, the sericeous b erases a tattoo on a dry reverberativetree branch. This drumming is the downys song, though they do make some forthrightnoises. They have several single-syllable call bloods which include tchick, anaggressive social note a tick and a tkhirrr, which are alarm notes. on that poi nt isalso a location call, known as a whinny, make up of a dozen or more tchicksall set up together.Scientific NamesThe downy woodpeckers scientific name is Picoides pubescens. Thereare also six particular downies with six particular scientific names all fromdifferent regions of the United States and southern Canada which I have listedbelowsouthern downy / Dryobates pubescens Gairdners woodpecker / Gairdneri pubescensBatchelders woodpecker / Leucurus pubescens northern downy / Medianus pubescensNelsons downy / Nelsoni pubescens willow woodpecker / Turati pubescensThe downy woodpecker is sometimes reffered to as little downy.Behavior Towards HumansThe downy is unquestionably the friendevasivenessst woodpecker. A bird loverin Wisconsin described downies at their feeding station The downies will backdown to the suet container on the basswood tree while I sit only a few feet awayon the patio. redden when I walk right up to them, most downies will not fly away,but will simply scoot aro und the stinkpot of the tree trunk and peek around tosee what I am doing. If I press them, they will hop up the backside of the treetrunk and then fly to a higher branch.Food alike being friendly, downy woodpeckers are our good friends foranother reason. Most of the insects they eat are considered destructive to mansorchards and forest products. About 75% of their diet is do up of animalmatter gleaned from bark and crevices where insect larvae and eggs lie hidden.While standing on that unique tripod of two legs and and a tail, downies getup and down tree trunks in search of a whole laundry list of insect pests. Withtheir special chisel-like bills and horny, sticky tongues, downies are adept atplucking out great numbers of beetle grubs, insect cocoons, or batches of insect