Bird guide · Dryobates pubescens
Downy Woodpecker
What the downy woodpecker eats, where it lives, when it comes to feeders and how to recognise it – with sightings from every US state.
- Season
- Year-round resident; northernmost birds may move south.
- Size
- 6 in (15 cm)
- Eats
- suet, shelled peanuts
- Feeds
- suet cage, mesh feeder
- Most common
- Minnesota, Missouri, Indiana
Food
What do downy woodpeckers eat?
At feeders, downy woodpeckers take suet, shelled peanuts.
Hangs acrobatically, often upside down, on feeders and twigs.
Feeder that suits it
A suet cage on a tree trunk or pole; peanuts and sunflower hearts work too.
Range
Where do downy woodpeckers live?
Common nearly everywhere except the arid Southwest. By share of all bird sightings, downy woodpeckers are most common in Minnesota (2.6%).
States where downy woodpeckers are most common
- Minnesota2.6%
- Missouri2.6%
- Indiana2.5%
- Iowa2.5%
- New Hampshire2.4%
- Georgia2.4%
- Wisconsin2.4%
- Connecticut2.4%
- Illinois2.4%
- Kentucky2.4%
Share of all bird sightings in each state that are downy woodpeckers, 2019–2024.
Season
Does the downy woodpecker migrate?
Year-round resident; northernmost birds may move south.. Across the US it is reported in every month; its share of bird sightings is highest in February.
Share of all bird sightings in the US that are downy woodpeckers, by month.
Identification
How to identify the downy woodpecker
Adults: White back, striped face, very short stubby bill, black bars on white outer tail feathers; male has a red nape spot.
Size: 6 in (15 cm)
Easily confused with
- Hairy Woodpecker – larger, bill nearly as long as the head
On camera
Getting the downy woodpecker on a feeder camera
Pick a camera feeder that takes a suet cage, or mount a separate camera next to a suet feeder on the trunk – woodpeckers cling to the bark while they feed.
Questions
Downy Woodpecker: questions
What do downy woodpeckers eat?
At feeders, suet, shelled peanuts.
Do downy woodpeckers migrate?
Year-round resident; northernmost birds may move south.. Across the US it is reported in every month; its share of bird sightings is highest in February.
Where do downy woodpeckers live?
By share of all bird sightings, they are most common in Minnesota, Missouri, Indiana, Iowa, New Hampshire. They are rare or absent in Arizona, Hawaii.