Hairy Woodpecker Similar Species Comparison
Similar Species
Downy Woodpecker
Male (Eastern)
Downy Woodpeckers are smaller with a smaller bill than Hairy Woodpeckers. The white outer tail feathers are spotted on Downy, but unmarked on Hairy.
© Evan Lipton | Macaulay LibraryRhode Island, February 02, 2017Similar Species
Ladder-backed Woodpecker
Male
Ladder-backed Woodpeckers have a black-and-white-barred back unlike Hairy Woodpeckers, which have a white patch down the center of the back.
© Edward Plumer | Macaulay LibraryTexas, February 20, 2016Similar Species
Nuttall's Woodpecker
Male
Nuttall's Woodpeckers have narrow horizontal bars on the back that Hairy Woodpeckers don't have.
© David M. Bell | Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, May 03, 2017Similar Species
American Three-toed Woodpecker
Adult male
American Three-toed Woodpeckers have finely barred sides, whereas Hairy Woodpeckers have clean white sides. They also have thinner facial stripes than Hairy Woodpeckers, and male Three-toeds have a yellow, not red, crown patch.
© Andrew Spencer | Macaulay LibraryColorado, May 25, 2016Similar Species
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Male
Sapsuckers have a white wing patch that Hairy Woodpeckers don't have.
© Margaret Dunson | Macaulay LibraryMichigan, May 25, 2017Main Species
Hairy Woodpecker
Male (Eastern)
Birds east of the rockies have spotting on their wings and wider facial stripes that birds in the interior West. Note long bill, nearly as long as its head and unmarked outer tail feathers.
© Matthew Plante | Macaulay LibraryOhio, February 01, 2021Female (Rocky Mts.)
Medium-sized woodpecker with a white patch down its back. Females look like males without the red crown patch. Birds in the interior West have nearly solid black wings and narrower facial stripes than those East of the Rockies.
© Mason Maron | Macaulay LibraryWashington, October 06, 2019Adult male at nest
Hollows out a nest in a live or dead tree. Both males and females feed young soft-bodied insects.
© Timothy Barksdale | Macaulay LibraryNew York, May 01, 2004Not all videos have sound
Female (Eastern)
Plumage varies regionally. East of the Rockies they have extensive spotting on the wings while western birds have much less spotting in the wings and narrower facial stripes.
© Dominique Genna | Macaulay LibraryQuebec, February 22, 2014Juvenile (Pacific)
Birds in the Pacific Northwest are brown and black (rather than white and black) and look coffee-stained.
© John F. Gatchet | Macaulay LibraryWashington, July 16, 2017Adult (Costa Rican)
Individuals from the highlands of eastern Costa Rica and western Panama have cinnamon underparts.
© Carlos Bolaños | Macaulay LibrarySan José, December 28, 2019Habitat
Found in in woodlots, suburbs, parks, and cemeteries, as well as forest edges, open pine-oak woodlands, recently burned forests, and stands infested by bark beetles.
© Tim Lenz | Macaulay LibraryNew York, October 04, 2015Rotate Your Device to Better Compare
Compare with Similar Species
Click on an image to compare
Species in This Family
Woodpeckers(Order: Piciformes, Family: Picidae)
Need Bird ID Help? Try Merlin
Don't miss a thing! Join our email list
The Cornell Lab will send you updates about birds,
birding, and opportunities to help bird conservation.