Birdland: Little Acrobat
Downy Woodpeckers are the smallest woodpeckers in North America, common and widespread in Colorado in all seasons. They are about six inches long, and checkered in black and white. The males, like this one, have a small red patch on their heads. These little guys are real acrobats, hitching around tree limbs and trunks and dropping into tall weeds to feed on galls. Sometimes you’ll even see them hanging upside down, drumming loudly on the dead limb of a tree. Photo by Mark Silverstein