Hairy Woodpecker vs. Downy Woodpecker

A lot of people have trouble telling the difference between a Hairy Woodpecker and a Downy Woodpecker.  Both woodpeckers have a white stripe down the back, and a red spot on the heads of the males.  They also have very similar territories.

There are several ways to tell the two apart:

1. Body length - The Hairy Woodpecker is 9 - 9.25 inches in length, while the Downy Woodpecker is 6 - 6.75 inches in length according to The Sibley Guide to the Birds by David Allen Sibley, and the National Geographic Complete Birds of North America edited by Jonathan Alderfer.  The pictures below are of both species on the same suet feeder.

Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus)

Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)

2. The Hairy Woodpecker has a longer bill, and the Downy Woodpecker has a shorter bill.  The Downy Woodpecker also has more bristles around the bill.  Think of the longer bird as having a longer bill.

Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)

Note shorter bill, and bristles at the base

of the bill.

Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus)

with flying Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)

Note longer bill on woodpecker.

Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus)

with Pine Siskins (Carduelis pinus)

Note lack of bristles at the base of the bill on the woodpecker.

 3. The Downy Woodpecker usually has dark bars out the outer tail feathers.  This is not always obvious.

4. The single note call of the Downy Woodpecker is "pick," and the single note call of the Hairy Woodpecker is "peek."  I think of it as the longer bird having the longer vowel.

5. The Downy Woodpecker often forages on smaller branches, and the Hairy Woodpecker often forages on larger branches.

Both types of woodpeckers are in this photograph.  The Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) is on the log feeder on the left, and the Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus) is on the seed feeder on the right.