# Downy Woodpecker

*Dryobates pubescens*

The Downy Woodpecker has a specialized shock-absorbent skull and a tongue that wraps around the back of its brain to cushion the impact of drumming.

- **Taxonomy:** Animalia › Chordata › Aves › Piciformes › Picidae › Dryobates
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** stable
- **Biome:** forest
- **Habitat:** Deciduous forests, woodlots, orchards, and suburban gardens with mature trees.
- **Diet:** Primarily wood-boring beetle larvae, ants, and caterpillars; also consumes seeds, berries, and suet.
- **Range:** United States, Canada
- **Size:** Length: 14-17 cm; Wingspan: 25-30 cm
- **Lifespan:** 2 to 5 years
- **Active:** diurnal
- **Threats:** Loss of standing dead trees (snags) for nesting, predation by domestic cats, and window collisions.
- **Safe to approach?:** Harmless and often curious. Observe from a respectful distance of 10-15 feet to avoid interrupting its foraging. If an individual is found dazed near a window, place it in a ventilated box in a dark, quiet spot for an hour before release; seek a wildlife rehabilitator if it does not recover.

## About

The downy woodpecker ( Dryobates pubescens ) is a species of woodpecker, the smallest in North America.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/b186cdab-d691-40af-8622-b89991e246fd
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/792988
- Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downy_woodpecker
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/177108982/medium.jpeg (Alexis Williams, CC-BY, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.