[Length 8.75 in. Wingspan 15 in.]

This "Rocky Mountain" Three-toed Woodpecker was photographed in the foothills near Pueblo, Colorado. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm ED f4.5 lens on Ektachrome 800 film. (Date: June 1986)

[Length 8.75 in. Wingspan 15 in.]

This "Western" Three-toed Woodpecker was photographed near Wasilla, Alaska. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm ED f4.5 lens on Kodachrome 200 film. (Date: June 1989)

[Length 7.5 in. Wingspan 14 in.]

This male Arizona Woodpecker was photographed at Cave Creek Ranch, Portal, AZ. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm EDAF-S VR f2.8 lens (EFL=450mm) on a Nikon D200 camera. (Date: August 12, 2007)

[Length 7.5 in. Wingspan 14 in.]

This male Arizona Woodpecker was photographed at Cave Creek Ranch, Portal, AZ. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm EDAF-S VR f2.8 lens (EFL=450mm) on a Nikon D200 camera. (Date: August 12, 2007)

[Length 7.5 in. Wingspan 14 in.]

This male Arizona Woodpecker was photographed at Cave Creek Ranch, Portal, AZ. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm EDAF-S VR f2.8 lens (EFL=450mm) on a Nikon D200 camera. (Date: August 12, 2007)

[Length 9.5 in. Wingspan 16 in.]

This male Black-backed woodpecker was photographed in Riding Mountain National Park in Manitoba, Canada. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm EDAF f4.0 lens on Kodachrome 200 film. (Date: June 1991)

[Length 14 in. Wingspan xx in.]

This male Crimson-crested Woodpecker was photographed at the ProAves El Dorado Reserve, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Department Magdalena, Colombia. Photo taken with a AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED lens (EFL=450mm) on a Nikon D200 camera. (Date: June 10, 2009)

[Length 8.75 in. Wingspan 15 in.]

Downy Woodpeckers occur in woodland areas, parks, and around suburban houses with nearby wooded areas throughout southern Canada, central Alaska, and all but the desert southwest of the lower 48 states of the US. The males and females are basically black-and-white birds told apart by the presence or absence of a red cap on the back of the head. This bird is a female, indicated by the lack of a red cap. Downy Woodpeckers are common visitors to suet feeders. This can provide the opportunity to observe them closely, as with this one, which was photographed as it worked its way around a tree toward a feeder. This one was photographed in a central New Jersey back yard. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm f4 EDAF lens on Kodachrome 200 film. (Date: December 1993)