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The downy woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens) is a species of woodpecker, the smallest in North America.Length ranges from 14 to 18 cm (5.5 to 7.1 in). Downy woodpeckers primarily live in forested areas throughout the United States and Canada, with the exception of deserts in the southwest and the northern tundra.
The genus Dryobates was named by the German naturalist Friedrich Boie in 1826 with the downy woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens) as the type species. [1]The genus name Dryobates is from the Greek compound word δρυο-βάτης : 'woodland walker'; from δρῦς : drus (genitive δρυός : dryós) meaning woodland and -βάτης : -bátēs meaning walker. [2]
Altricial young are born helpless and require care for a length of time. Altricial birds include hawks, herons, woodpeckers, owls, cuckoos and most passerines. Among mammals, marsupials and most rodents are altricial. Domestic cats, dogs, and primates, such as humans, are some of the best-known altricial organisms. [14]
A downy woodpecker in a pear tree in early spring. The downy woodpecker is a bit smaller and has a shorter beak than the similarly patterned hairy woodpecker. Island Packet Staff photo.
The largest surviving species is the great slaty woodpecker, which weighs 430 g (15 oz) on average and up to 563 g (19.9 oz), and measures 45 to 55 cm (18 to 22 in), but the extinct imperial woodpecker, at 55 to 61 cm (22 to 24 in), and ivory-billed woodpecker, around 48 to 53 cm (19 to 21 in) and 516 g (18.2 oz), were probably both larger.
The yellow-bellied sapsucker has a length of around 19 to 21 centimetres (7 + 1 ⁄ 2 to 8 + 1 ⁄ 4 in), and an average weight of 50.3 grams (1.77 oz), although this can range anywhere from 35 to 62 grams (1.2 to 2.2 oz).
Lewis's woodpecker: Melanerpes lewis (Gray, GR, 1849) 35 Guadeloupe woodpecker: Melanerpes herminieri (Lesson, RP, 1830) 36 Puerto Rican woodpecker: Melanerpes portoricensis (Daudin, 1803) 37 Red-headed woodpecker: Melanerpes erythrocephalus (Linnaeus, 1758) 38 Acorn woodpecker: Melanerpes formicivorus (Swainson, 1827) 39 Yellow-tufted woodpecker
The ladder-backed woodpecker is fairly common in dry brushy areas and thickets and has a rather large range. The species can be found year-round over the southwestern United States (north to extreme southern Nevada and extreme southeastern Colorado), most of Mexico, and locally in Central America as far south as Nicaragua.