A variety of woodpeckers on this page except for red-bellied woodpeckers which are on the subsequent page.
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A pileated woodpecker
[A medium-sized bird with a large red crest at the top of its head. The rest of its head has black and white stripes. There is a white line down its dark body. We see the left side of the bird as it is ready to peck the tree trunk.]

A pileated woodpecker is a big bird. Compare it to the window pane.
[The red-headed bird is on the left side of a tree which is only a couple of feet away from a white block house. The bird's head is level with the lower pane of the window. From this view, it appears the body of the bird is the same length as the lower have of the window frame.]

A pileated woodpecker high in a tree (I highlighted the area around it to make it easier to find.)
[The image is full of smaller twigs with one large tree trunk in the lower right. The bird is on a vertical branch which runs from the trunk straight to top in the middle of the image. The bird is on the left of the branch facing right as it pecks. The sky is blue with a circle around the bird faded until it is almost white so the bird is noticeable among the branches.]

The head of a yellow-bellied sapsucker.
[The head and upper part of the body is visible above a tree branch. This bird has a large pointed black beak. It's body is a series of black and white stripes with a bit of red on the front of its head and under its beak.]

The back of a yellow-bellied sapsucker.
[The bird has its head turned to the right so its large bill is visible. The back coloring is black with patches of irregularly spaced white splotches. The sides of its white belly are partially visible.]

The downy woodpecker is one of the smaller woodpeckers.
[A small black and white bird. It has black and white stripes across its head with a small red patch on the back of the head. The tips of its wing feathers are white while the rest is black giving it a 'white-dotted' appearance. The tail is all black in the center with black-flecked white feathers on the outer parts. This is a back view of the woodpecker with its head turned toward the left as it perches in a tree.]

A different male downy woodpecker.
[This is a nearly straight-on view of the back of the woodpecker perched on a vertical branch. It has a red patch along the top of its head. Below the red is a black section which is the top of a black T shape on its head. On either side of the T are white patches and there is a large white patch on the center of its back. The tips of its wing feathers are white while the rest is black giving it a 'white-dotted' appearance. ]

A front view of a female downy woodpecker (no red patch on the head).
[The neck and belly of this bird is all white. It has a dark beak and a black and white stripes across its face. The wings are mostly black. The underside of the tail is white with black stripes.]

Female downy woodpecker with a fluffier 'hairdo'.
[The bird's head is bent to the horizontal branch on which it is perched. The bill is open slightly. The feathers on its head are sticking straight out from the head rather than smoothed down.]

Strong feet help this bird do an under-branch maneuver.
[The bird is parallel to a branch as it hangs on below it by only its feet. The head is not visible, but the white belly and a patch of white down its back as well as the black tail feather and white-tipped back side feathers are.]

Continue to page 2 to see red-bellied woodpeckers.

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All photos © S. M. Garver