#Downy woodpecker sounds series#

In general, data obtained by census-takers indicates that the Downy’s populations are stable in North America in fact, in Canada, their numbers have even increased in the last 20 to 30 years. He can be seen clutching tightly to the tree branch or trunk, bobbing his head all the while he is scooting up and down the tree, moving in a circular pattern, then darting from side to side with astonishing swiftness. As he climbs, he supports himself on his rigid, pointed rectrices these tail feathers actually prop him up and sustain his weight as he works his way up and around the tree. His short legs and zygodactyl feet afford him an exceptional grip against the bark. Typical of nearly all Woodpeckers, the Downy is an excellent and agile climber. He consumes countless destructive insects, such as the wood-boring ones and their larvae this provides great economic benefit to the community. But the Downy is not here just for the viewer’s benefit he contributes to the health of our ecosystems. People everywhere appreciate the Downy’s antics, and bird watchers gladly supply them with food and water, particularly during the winter months.

And just as other Woodpeckers do, they drum and make whinnying noises during the nesting season. They fly in an undulating manner and are able to move more acrobatically than larger Woodpeckers.

© 2016 Tune In to Nature.Downy Woodpeckers ( Picoides pubescens) – also known as Batchelder’s Woodpeckers, Gairdner’s Woodpeckers, Southern Downy or Willow Woodpeckers – are the most diminutive of America’s Woodpeckers, and they are the group that is most familiar to people.Ī group of woodpeckers has many collective nouns, including a “descent”, “drumming”, and “gatling” of woodpeckers.ĭowny Woodpeckers fasten themselves on tree limbs and trunks and swing out to drop into tall weeds to feed on galls, (abnormal outgrowths on the surface of plant tissues caused by various parasites-fungi, bacteria, insects and mites). Yellow-bellied Sapsucker recordist not known. Red-breasted Sapsucker drumming on metal recorded by Susannah Buhrman.īirdNote’s theme music was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler. Downy Woodpecker and Red-breasted Sapsucker drumming and foraging Pileated Woodpecker recorded by G.A. And as it searches for the most resonant drum, it might just find that your metal rain-gutter makes the best music.īird audio provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. And the little Downy Woodpecker’s drum roll seems rather modest-rather short and not too fast.įor any woodpecker, it’s all about proclaiming a sound signal as far and as loud as possible. A Yellow-bellied Sapsucker seems to be signaling in Morse code, as it snaps its bill against a stub of dead branch. A hefty Pileated Woodpecker lets go a resounding tattoo against a hollow trunk. Woodpeckers offer a fascinating cast of drummers. We also hear woodpeckers knocking on wood when they're carving holes in trees to create nest cavities or extract insect prey, but these whacks are more methodical Their rhythmic drumming works like many birds’ songs: it broadcasts to other woodpeckers over a long distance a clear assertion of territorial and mating rights.

#Downy woodpecker sounds series#

Like a jazz player beating out a drum roll, a woodpecker uses its bill to rap out a brisk series of notes.Įarly spring resounds with the percussive hammering of woodpeckers.