What food do downy woodpeckers eat?

Downy woodpeckers are small birds that are found throughout most of North America. They are omnivores and feed on a variety of foods including insects, spiders, seeds, fruits, nuts, and sap. Understanding what downy woodpeckers eat is important for attracting them to backyards and supporting their populations.

Insects and Spiders

Insects and spiders make up the majority of a downy woodpecker’s diet. They are very effective at finding insects hidden in the crevices of trees, under bark, and inside dead and decaying wood. Downy woodpeckers use their pointed beak to poke, pry, hammer, and excavate wood to access insects.

Some of the main insects they prey on include:

• Beetles
• Caterpillars
• Ants
• Flies
• Crickets
• Grasshoppers
• Moths
• Spiders

Beetles and their larvae are an especially important food source. Downy woodpeckers will eat wood-boring beetle larvae that tunnel under the bark. They also consume tree sap adults like bark beetles and long-horned beetles.

Ants are another favorite prey. Downy woodpeckers use their barbed tongue to lap up ants. They are drawn to carpenter ants which nest in dead and decaying wood.

Caterpillars provide nourishment for nestlings while also helping to rid trees of potentially harmful pests. Moths are also eaten at night, providing a source of food when daylight insects are unavailable.

Seeds and Fruits

Downy woodpeckers supplement their insect diet with a variety of seeds and fruits. They sometimes fly out from trunks and perch on branches and tall plants to pick berries and fruits.

Some of the plant foods downy woodpeckers consume include:

• Sumac berries
• Grapes
• Virginia creeper berries
• Dogwood berries
• Serviceberries
• Black cherry
• Hackberries
• Elderberries
• Wild raisins
• Blackberries
• Raspberries
• Poke berries
• Corn
• Acorns
• Beechnuts
• Pine seeds

Fruits provide important carbohydrates while seeds and nuts offer protein and fat. Downy woodpeckers sometimes wedge acorns and nuts into the crevices of the bark to anchor them while chiseling out the edible parts.

Sap

Downy woodpeckers rely on tree sap as a food source, especially in winter when insects are scarce. They use their beak to create holes in tree bark to access the nutrient-rich sap flowing underneath.

Some of the tree species they tap for sap include:

• Maples
• Willows
• Birches
• Alders
• Pines

The sap provides sugars and carbohydrates which provide energy. Downy woodpeckers will often return to the same sap wells they create to feed on the sap as it continues oozing out.

Backyard Feeders

Downy woodpeckers will visit backyard bird feeders, especially in winter when natural food is limited. They are attracted to suet feeders which provide high-fat suet cakes or suet pellets made from animal fat and seeds.

Other types of feeders they may visit include:

• Seed feeders stocked with black oil sunflower seeds, cracked corn, nyjer, etc.
• Fruit feeders with grapes, berries, and cut oranges, apples
• Mealworm feeders
• Oriole feeders with grape jelly
• Hummingbird feeders with sugar water

Suet feeders are highly recommended for attracting downy woodpeckers. Make sure to place suet feeders on tall, sturdy poles or trees away from the reach of predators.

Foraging Behaviors

Downy woodpeckers exhibit specialized foraging behaviors and adaptations to find and consume their prey:

• Use short, powerful bills to chisel, excavate, and hammer wood
• Skillfully pry and peel bark to access insects underneath
• Use long, barbed tongues to skewer, lap up, and pull out insects
• Make sap wells for tree sap by drilling into trunks
• Hop along tree trunks and branches searching for food
• Excavate granary trees containing deep holes filled with acorns
• Occasionally catch insects in flight
• Drum bill on wood producing rapid vibrations to startle insects out of crevices

In the winter, downy woodpeckers will roost in tree cavities they excavated the previous summer. Hundreds of individual overnight holes may be bored into a single tree over many seasons.

Nestlings

Adult downy woodpeckers feed their young chicks a diet of mostly insects since they provide a lot of protein for growth. Some common insects fed to nestlings include:

• Caterpillars
• Moths
• Beetles
• Grasshoppers
• Crickets
• Ants
• Flies
• Spiders
• Mealworms

Adults make frequent trips to deliver food to nestlings. The increased energy demands of nestlings often causes downy woodpeckers to visit feeders more frequently.

Habitats

Downy woodpeckers inhabit a variety of wooded habitats and can find food in many places:

• Deciduous forests with oak, beech, maple, hickory, willow
• Pine and mixed forests
• Woodlots
• Orchards
• Parks
• Backyards
• Gardens

Dead and dying trees, as well as those infested with insects, provide excellent foraging sites. Downy woodpeckers particularly favor nesting and roosting in dead trees such as snags.

Species Comparison

The hairy woodpecker is very similar looking to the downy woodpecker and the two are often confused. However, they differ in their diets and foraging habits:

While hairy woodpeckers focus on boring into deep wood, downy woodpeckers concentrate more on shallow digging into the outer bark for small insects and sap.

Conclusion

Downy woodpeckers are omnivores that eat a wide variety of foods. Insects like beetles, ants, and caterpillars make up the majority of their diet. They also consume plant material like seeds, fruits, nuts, and sap. Specialized foraging behaviors like excavating and drilling help them access food.

Downy woodpeckers reside in wooded habitats where they can find their food, especially dead and dying trees with insects. They are regular visitors to backyard feeders with suet, seeds, fruit, and nectar. Understanding what downy woodpeckers eat helps bird enthusiasts support these fascinating birds.