The Newfoundland Hairy Woodpecker (D. v. terrænovæ) is larger and darker than the Hairy; it inhabits Newfoundland.
Washington, rare P.R. Ossining, rare P.R. Cambridge, uncommon W.V., one summer record. N. Ohio, common P.R. Glen Ellyn, fairly common P.R.
The Hairy is not so common as his small cousin the Downy, and does not so readily make friends. He prefers the woods to our orchards and is for these reasons less often seen at our feeding-stands. The Hairy's notes are noticeably louder than the Downy's. The nest-hole is usually in a dead tree. The 2-4 white eggs are laid the last half of April.
DOWNY WOODPECKER
Dryobates pubescens medianus. [Case 2], Figs. 26, 27
The Downy differs from the Hairy Woodpecker in color by having the outer tail-feathers with black bars, but it is the bird's obviously smaller size that will serve to distinguish it. L. 6¾.
Range. From Virginia northward into Canada. A Permanent Resident. The Southern Downy Woodpecker (D. p. pubescens, [Case 3], Fig. 25) is smaller, darker below and with the white markings smaller. L. 6. It inhabits the south Atlantic and Gulf States north to North Carolina.
Washington, common P.R. Ossining, common P.R. Cambridge, common P.R. N. Ohio, common P.R. Glen Ellyn, common P.R. SE. Minn., common P.R.
Our commonest Woodpecker; an alert, active little driller for insects and their eggs and larvæ, and frequent visitor to our lunch-counters, particularly if we supply them with suet. His sharp peek, peek, running at times into a diminishing string of peeks, and his rolling tatoo, as he pounds a limb with amazing rapidity, are prominent parts of every-day bird language, the tatoo being a 'song' of the breeding season.
Four to six white eggs are laid in a hole, usually in a dead tree, the first week in May. The Southern Downy nests in April.
RED-COCKADED WOODPECKER
Dryobates borealis