Hairy Woodpeckers get their name from the long, hair-like white feathers on their back. They share this patch of white feathers with their local lookalike, the Downy Woodpecker. You can identify Hairy Woodpeckers by their longer bill (approximately the same length as the head, or longer), white outer tail feathers (with no black spots), and louder “PIK” call. These common woodpeckers prefer large patches of wooded habitat with mature trees for foraging and nesting, but will also commonly visit bird feeders. The majority of their diet is insects (~70% throughout the year), especially the larvae of beetles that live on and in bark; they generally increase in areas with bark beetle infestations. These cavity excavators frequently nest in living trees with cores softened by heart rot. Their nests are frequently reused by a great variety of species, including other woodpeckers, Great Crested Flycatchers, and flying squirrels.
Backyard Bird of the Month is a feature by Maine Audubon created for the Maine Home Garden News, the newsletter of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension: Garden and Yard.
