downy woodpecker

noun

1. a small, North American woodpecker, Picoides pubescens, having black and white plumage.

Word History and Origins

Origin of downy woodpecker¹

An Americanism dating back to 1800–10

Example Sentences

In warm weather, it’s alive with nuthatches, chickadees, sometimes a downy woodpecker.

Read more on Seattle Times

A photo caption that accompanied an image with the article misidentified a downy woodpecker as a hairy woodpecker, and a group of bright yellow finches or vireos was referred to only as “birds.”

Read more on Washington Post

Instead, we found a flock of house finches, another of pine siskins and a diminutive downy woodpecker.

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I missed walking outside to the chirpy song of a red-winged blackbird first thing in the morning, the downy woodpeckers tapping away on our old maple tree.

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All around the yard the downy woodpeckers and the Carolina wrens and the tufted titmice are traveling from branch to branch, two by two.

Read more on New York Times