Downy Woodpeckers are year-long residents here. They’re our smallest woodpeckers, usually growing to between six and seven inches. Yet, they’re tough; the red patches on their heads were considered by Native Americans to be badges of courage.
Downeys also are monogamous and often travel in playful pairs. They’re among the woodpeckers that can extract larvae and other hibernating insects out of wood by spearing them with their barbed bony tongues. They also gulp down berries ferociously and can be bullies at home feeders.
(Brooklin, Maine)