Kitrushing

By Kitrushing

Is it a Hairy or a Downy Woodpecker and my Suet

So... friends in Edinburgh say they have no visitors to their suet offering in their bird feeder.

A few of my daily visitors, the Downey Woodpecker and the similarly feathered Hairy Woodpecker, are not native to Scotland, but I've told the young female in the attached back porch photograph there may be good pickings (should I say "peckings") just a couple of thousand miles to the northeast of Chattanooga.

She will have to fly over a wee bit of water to get to where I'm suggesting...  and the air is a little cooler. But it's an idea for fresh suet.  I told her, I believe Scottish suet contains Scotland's famous national food---the Haggis!

After a few seconds of contemplation the little woodpecker shook its tail at me and flew away. From her attitude and facial expression, I don't think she was going home to pack bags for a trans Atlantic journey... suet with the Haggis or no!

But a question arises about the true identification of this wee woodpecker. Is she a true Downy or the often mistaken for Hairy?

According to the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, quoting now, "The larger of two look alikes, the Hairy Woodpecker is a small but powerful bird that forages along trunks and main branches of large trees. It wields a much longer bill than the Downy Woodpecker's almost thornlike bill. Hairy Woodpeckers have a somewhat soldierly look, with their erect, straight-backed posture on tree trunks and their cleanly striped heads. Look for them at backyard suet or sunflower feeders, and listen for them whinnying from woodlots, parks, and forests." 

 https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Hairy_Woodpecker/id

Keep smilin'

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