Help Me Identify a Bird

Re: Northwest Hairy woodpecker in CT?

mina222 — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 23:51:34 GMT

hi, found this question by searching thru google. I have a similar mystery bird, i still cannot confidently identify. I say by all means its a downy but who knows why its brown.. anyway i have a question running right now at yahoo answers, with links to My pics of this bird.. just wondering if it looks like yours? heres the link:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070205141305AAFpX14&r=w

Re: Northwest Hairy woodpecker in CT?

Crystalmtb — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 12:54:45 GMT

Kate, thanks so much for the info. Thats probably what we had! Crystal

Re: Northwest Hairy woodpecker in CT?

Crystalmtb — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 12:52:05 GMT

If I see it again I'll be sure to grab the camera. It didn't even occur to me to do so as we've always been able to identify newcomers before. I hope to see him again, although I don't normally see woodpeckers at our feeders. Its always exciting when we do see them. Crystal

Re: Northwest Hairy woodpecker in CT?

snowyowl — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 04:30:06 GMT

Could you possibly obtain a photo and post it?

Re: Northwest Hairy woodpecker in CT?

prbosnpl — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 22:08:26 GMT

The following is from the species account for Hairy woodpecker. I have seen Hairy's before that are stained from bark tannins of oak trees and they were tricky to id. It is possible you have a "dirty bird".

Kate

Aberrant plumages

As with Downy Woodpeckers (Jackson and Ouellet 2002), breast and other white markings of Hairy Woodpecker subject to discoloration due to soot from air pollution, natural fires, or prescribed burns; tannins from tree surfaces; and other environmental sources (JAJ). An apparently melanistic specimen from New Mexico had broadened black malar and anterior auricular stripes, reduced white on the head, reduced white with some black barring in the mid-dorsal stripe, and increased black on the sides and flanks. It was also unusual in having broadened white wing markings and an ivory-colored bill with brown tomia (Short 1969). A Hairy Woodpecker in New York that had white areas replaced by brown (LaFrance 1983) might have been stained, although genetically brown-breasted individuals are characteristic of some Central American and Pacific Northwest populations. Females from Nova Scotia (Royal Ontario Museum #24899) and Sapelo I., Georgia (American Museum of Natural History [AMNH] #487924) have an exceptionally white face with white superciliary stripe joining white malar stripe in front of eyes (JAJ). A male from Priest Lake, Idaho (specimen, Field Museum #127895) had a crown heavily mottled with white, white greater primary- and secondary-coverts, and white distal quarter of upper tail-coverts. A specimen from Madera, Chihuahua, Mexico (AMNH #706452) is an apparent gynandromorph, having red in nuchal area on left side, and white in same area on left side (JAJ).

Re: Northwest Hairy woodpecker in CT?

Crystalmtb — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 17:27:00 GMT

So on this site the closest thing I can find is the Nuttalls, but they're in CA. That bird has a white underbelly though, and this was a very dirty brown/gray color. Think Northern Flicker in color, but we get those also and the head color is all wrong for that. This is driving me crazy-Maybe its just a very dirty Downy woodpecker? Whenever we're seen those or the Hairy's they are always so sharp and vivid with the contrasting black, white and red on the back of the head.

Northwest Hairy woodpecker in CT?

Crystalmtb — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 17:19:08 GMT

Hi, this morning at our feeder my husband and I saw a woodpecker we couldn't identify. Had the black eyeband and small red patch on back of the head like a Downy or hairy, but the body color was gray and brown, not black and white. Was a medium size, and I read on this site that northwest hairy woodpeckers have a gray brown body. Aren't Downy's larger than hairy's? This was bigger than the small ones we've seen. Any ideas? Our New England Audobon guide was no use. Thanks, Crystal