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Birdaday Field Notes

ID guide

Types of woodpeckers: 7 backyard species in one chart

Seven types of woodpeckers turn up at US backyard feeders: the Downy, Hairy, Red-bellied and Pileated Woodpeckers, the Northern Flicker, the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and the Red-headed Woodpecker. The first six are the woodpeckers on Project FeederWatch's list of common feeder birds; All About Birds says the seventh, the Red-headed, occasionally visits suet feeders in winter.

Audubon counts 22 woodpecker species in the US, but many of the others live in only one region, such as Nuttall's Woodpecker in California's oak woodlands. This page puts the seven backyard species in one chart, then gives each a short section. Two have full profiles: Downy Woodpecker and Red-bellied Woodpecker, and the hardest pair has its own page, Downy vs Hairy Woodpecker.

Jump to: Chart · Sizes · Quick ID key · Downy · Hairy · Red-bellied · Northern Flicker · Pileated · Yellow-bellied Sapsucker · Red-headed · Regional species

Types of woodpeckers chart: size, range and feeder foods

Woodpecker Length Where in the US At feeders Quick ID mark
Downy 5.5–6.7 in Year-round across most of the US except the Southwest The woodpecker most likely to visit a feeder: suet first, also black-oil sunflower, millet, peanuts, chunky peanut butter White back stripe; bill about one-third of the head
Hairy 7.1–10.2 in Year-round through much of the Downy's range Suet, peanuts, black-oil sunflower, especially in winter White back stripe; bill nearly as long as the head
Red-bellied 9.4 in Woodlands, parks and suburbs across much of the East Suet in winter, peanuts, sometimes sunflower Black-and-white barred back; red on the back of the head (males also the crown)
Northern Flicker 11.0–12.2 in Year-round across the country Not a regular feeder bird; visits yards and bird baths, may use a nest box Brown, black-scalloped; white rump in flight
Pileated 15.8–19.3 in Eastern woodlands, much of Canada, parts of the Pacific Northwest Sometimes, especially suet Crow-sized; red crest
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 7.1–8.7 in Much of the Midwest and East in winter Not regular; may visit suet White stripe along the folded wing; rows of sap holes
Red-headed 7.5–9.1 in Open woodlands and farm fields; breeds in the east-central US Occasionally in winter, especially suet Whole head red; big white wing patches

Lengths: Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds ID pages. Where: Audubon magazine (2025), Red-headed breeding range from Wikipedia. At feeders: each species' All About Birds Backyard Tips. ID marks: as cited in each species section below.

Woodpecker sizes compared

Length ranges of seven backyard woodpeckers on one inch scaleHorizontal bars on a 0 to 20 inch scale, numbered 1 to 7 from smallest to largest. 1 Downy 5.5 to 6.7 inches. 2 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 7.1 to 8.7. 3 Red-headed 7.5 to 9.1. 4 Hairy 7.1 to 10.2. 5 Red-bellied 9.4, shown as a single diamond. 6 Northern Flicker 11.0 to 12.2. 7 Pileated 15.8 to 19.3. 05101520 in 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
  1. Downy Woodpecker: 5.5–6.7 in.
  2. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker: 7.1–8.7 in.
  3. Red-headed Woodpecker: 7.5–9.1 in.
  4. Hairy Woodpecker: 7.1–10.2 in.
  5. Red-bellied Woodpecker: 9.4 in (a single figure, shown as a diamond).
  6. Northern Flicker: 11.0–12.2 in.
  7. Pileated Woodpecker: 15.8–19.3 in.
Drawn for Birdaday Field Notes from the length ranges on each species' All About Birds identification page, cited below. Bars are drawn to scale on the inch axis.

Four of the seven overlap between 7 and 10 inches, so size settles only the extremes. All About Birds puts the Downy at about two-thirds the size of a Hairy, and the Flicker at about half again as big.

Quick ID key: which woodpecker is it?

  1. Brown, with a black chest patch and spotted belly, often feeding on the ground; white rump in flight: Northern Flicker.
  2. About crow-sized, with a red crest and a white neck stripe: Pileated Woodpecker.
  3. Whole head red, white body, large white wing patches: adult Red-headed Woodpecker. The same pattern with a brown head is a young Red-headed.
  4. Pale face and underparts, back barred black and white, red on the back of the head: Red-bellied Woodpecker.
  5. Long white stripe along the folded wing, red forehead, neat rows of small holes in the bark: Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.
  6. White stripe down the middle of the back: Downy or Hairy. A bill about one-third the distance from its base to the back of the head means Downy; about the whole distance means Hairy (FeederWatch). The full checklist is on Downy vs Hairy Woodpecker.

Marks from All About Birds, the Audubon field guide and Project FeederWatch. For the terms crown, nape and rump, see the parts of a bird diagram.

The seven backyard woodpeckers

Downy Woodpecker

Smallest of the seven · 5.5–6.7 in · year-round

Male Downy Woodpecker clinging to a thin tree trunk against a deep blue sky, seen from behind and the side: red patch on the back of the head, black-and-white striped face, short pointed bill, white stripe down the back and black wings with rows of white spots
A male Downy Woodpecker, as identified by the photographer: small, black-and-white, with a short bill.
Photo: Joshua J. Cotten on Unsplash
  • Look for: a small black-and-white woodpecker barely bigger than the chickadees and nuthatches it often flocks with, with a short bill (All About Birds). Downy and Hairy are the only common woodpeckers with a vertical white stripe down the back (FeederWatch).
  • Listen for: a high-pitched pik and a descending whinny (All About Birds).
  • At feeders: where it occurs, the woodpecker most likely to visit a backyard feeder. It prefers suet, and also takes black-oil sunflower, millet, peanuts and chunky peanut butter; occasionally it drinks from oriole and hummingbird feeders (All About Birds).
  • More: Downy Woodpecker profile.

Hairy Woodpecker

The Downy's larger look-alike · 7.1–10.2 in · year-round

Hairy Woodpecker clinging upright to a tree trunk in side view: long straight dark bill nearly as long as the head, black-and-white striped face, black line running from the neck down the side of the white breast, black wings with white spots
Hairy Woodpecker, Saint-Camille, Quebec (April 2010): the bill is nearly as long as the head (Cornell). A Quality image on Wikimedia Commons; species as given on the file page.
Photo: Cephas / CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  • Look for: the same black-and-white pattern as the Downy, but a medium-sized bird with a long, chisel-like bill nearly the length of the head (All About Birds). Scan the trunks and main branches of large trees.
  • Listen for: an abrupt whinny and an explosive peek (All About Birds).
  • At feeders: suet, peanuts and black-oil sunflower, especially in winter. Dead trees left standing, where safe, may draw a nesting pair (All About Birds).
  • More: Downy vs Hairy Woodpecker.

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Zebra-backed · 9.4 in · mostly the East

Red-bellied Woodpecker clinging to a vertical trunk, seen from the side: red from the base of the bill over the crown to the nape, pale buff face, black-and-white barred back and wings, belly turned toward the bark
A male Red-bellied Woodpecker, as identified by the photographer: red from the bill to the nape.
Photo: Joshua J. Cotten on Unsplash
  • Look for: narrow black-and-white bars on the back and a buffy face and chest. Males have red on the forehead, crown and nape; females only on the back of the head. The red belly is usually hard to see (Audubon).
  • Listen for: a loud, trilling querr that often gives the bird away before it is seen (Audubon magazine).
  • At feeders: suet in winter, peanuts and sometimes sunflower seed; in fall and winter it also eats berries from trees such as hawthorn or mountain-ash (All About Birds).
  • More: Red-bellied Woodpecker profile, including the Red-headed mix-up.

Northern Flicker

Ground-feeding · 11.0–12.2 in · year-round across the country

  • Look for: a large brown woodpecker with black-scalloped plumage and a bright white rump patch in flight. The wing flash is yellow in the East and red in the West (All About Birds). Audubon adds a black chest patch, spotted belly and, on males, a black (eastern) or red (western) mustache stripe; the two forms interbreed where they meet.
  • Where it feeds: mainly on the ground, digging for ants and beetles (All About Birds). Audubon says it eats more ants than any other North American bird, plus fruit and berries in fall and winter.
  • In the yard: it doesn't habitually visit feeders, but turns up in backyards and at bird baths, and may take a nest box put up well before the breeding season (All About Birds).
  • Photos and range map: All About Birds.

Pileated Woodpecker

Largest of the seven · 15.8–19.3 in · wingspan 26.0–29.5 in

  • Look for: a very large woodpecker with a long neck and triangular crest (All About Birds), about crow-sized, with a red crest and white neck stripe. The male's forehead and mustache are red, the female's black; white under the wings flashes in flight (Audubon). Audubon calls it the largest living woodpecker in North America.
  • Signs: rectangular holes dug into dead trees; carpenter ants may be up to 60 percent of its diet (Audubon).
  • At feeders: it sometimes visits, especially for suet, and dead or dying trees left standing can draw it to forage, roost or nest (All About Birds). Audubon notes it even lives in parks and woodlots at the edges of large cities.
  • Photos and range map: All About Birds.

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Sap-drinker · 7.1–8.7 in · winter visitor in much of the East

  • Look for: a bold black-and-white face, a red forehead and a white stripe along the folded wing. Males have a red throat, females a white one (Audubon). It often clings motionless to a trunk while calling (All About Birds).
  • Signs: neat horizontal rows of small sapwells drilled in the bark. It returns to lick the sap and the insects caught in it, and chases off other birds, such as hummingbirds, drawn to the sap (All About Birds).
  • Season: one of the most migratory woodpeckers, with almost no overlap between summer and winter ranges; it winters commonly in the southeastern US (Audubon).
  • At feeders: not a regular visitor, though it may come to suet (All About Birds).
  • Photos and range map: All About Birds.

Red-headed Woodpecker

"Flying checkerboard" · 7.5–9.1 in · open country

  • Look for: an entirely crimson head, a snow-white body and wings half white, half inky black (All About Birds). Young birds have a brown head and dark bars across the white wing patch; the brown turns red during the first winter (Audubon).
  • Habits: it catches insects in the air and eats many acorns and beech nuts, often hiding extra food in tree crevices (All About Birds).
  • At feeders: occasionally in winter, especially suet (All About Birds).
  • Status: All About Birds says it has declined severely in the past half-century because of habitat loss and changes to its food supply; Wikipedia cites an estimated 65.5 percent decline over 40 years. It is often confused with the Red-bellied, which has only a red cap.
  • Photos and range map: All About Birds.

Regional woodpeckers

Regional species from Audubon's 2025 list of all 22 US woodpeckers, with where each lives:

Five barred or striped look-alikes of the Downy and Hairy are compared in a table on Downy vs Hairy Woodpecker.

Woodpeckers on the house, and on your day list

Drumming or drilling on siding is covered, cause by cause, on woodpecker damage to your house. For a Bird-a-Day streak, each of the seven is a separate species and a separate day; the year-round Downy, the woodpecker most likely to visit a feeder, is usually the easiest backup.

Sources