Hairy or Downy??

Beautiful capture and it looks like a downy to me.

Nice shot. I'd say downy also

Looks like a Downy to me. Downy woodpeckers have a bill that in about 1/2 the length of their heads whereas Hairy woodpeckers have a bill that is about as long as their heads. Hairy woodpeckers are about 1/3 larger than Downy woodpeckers. Another field mark is that the Downy has small black bars or spots on the outer, white tail feathers. The outer tail feathers however are not a 100% way to tell them apart. Molted, faded, and worn feathers can make things difficult. It's best to use multiple traits to pin down an ID on similar birds.

Beauty Iain, love the woodpeckers.

Wonderful capture Iain.

Thanks for the comments and feedback!

Very nice shot, I really don't see many of these lately.

I have to disagree though, I really believe that this is a Hairy, I'm not an expert, but that is a long bill, The bill actually looks like it's in-between the two.

Randy

I also think that beak looks way too long to be a Downy! I vote Hairy! Nice shot too!

Downy

It is kinda longish, but it's still less than about half the length of the head. on my monitor the bill measures 1-1/16" and the head is 1-7/8". On a Hairy the bill would be about the same length as the head.

If it is a Downy, it is the Jimmy Durante of all of Downy Woodpeckers!

Very nice capture.

Mike

I think a Hairy based on the size of the beak.

Quote from a birding website: "The white outer tail feathers on the Downy Woodpecker are usually barred in black, giving a spotted effect. The beak is about one-third the distance from the base of the bill to the back of the head."

I'm sticking with Hairy! Perhaps a young Hairy! A quick way I can tell at my suet feeders, if it's bigger than the suet cake, it's a Hairy. If it's a little smaller than the suet cake, it's a Downy.

Such fun, like debating between a Coopers and a Sharp Shinned Hawk!