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[[image: downywoodpeckr.jpg ]]

'''Common Name:''' Downy Woodpecker

'''Scientific Name:''' Picoides pubescens

'''Size:''' 5.75 inches (14-17cm)

'''Habitat:''' Found throughout North America from Alaska to Florida. Lives in a variety of habitats from wilderness forests to urban backyards.

'''Status:''' Least Concern. '''Global Population:''' 13,000,000 mature individuals. Widespread and abundant and it may be slightly increasing in some areas.

'''Diet:''' Insects, beetle larvae, fruits, and nuts.

'''Breeding:''' Three to eight eggs are laid. Nesting takes place in tree cavities. There’s no nest structure in cavity.

'''Cool Facts:''' The most common and the smallest of the North American woodpeckers. It frequently stays with mixed species flocks in winter. The woodpecker is less vigilant looking for predators and more successful at foraging when in such a flock. It will readily join chickadees or other birds mobbing a predator, but it remains quiet and does not actually join in the mobbing.

Downy Woodpeckers that live in the North are slightly larger than those that live in the South. The Northern Downy Woodpeckers also prefer higher elevations than their Southern cousins.

The Hairy Woodpecker looks most identical to the Downy.  The smaller size and pronounced tuft of beak hairs on the upper bill and short bill are how you tell the difference. 


'''Found in [http://hivewire3d.com/songbird-remix-woodpeckers.html Songbird ReMix Woodpeckers]'''