We have a peanut feeder in front of the kitchen sink. We have had Hairy, Downy and occasionally a female Pileated visiting the feeder. This past week or so both Downy and Hairy have been bringing their young. Both seem to have male and female babies, and the parents are sharing the feeding. I noticed that the male baby Hairy has its red head marking on the front instead of near the rear of the head as in the adult male. Is the Hairy chick an oddball or does location differ?
Peter Gulliver, Peterborough
Note: I think I’ve seen this before on young Hairy Woodpeckers, so to be sure, I went to Google Images and searched for “Juvenile Hairy Woodpecker”. A photo came up showing that the red does appear at the front in young birds. If this is always the case, I don’t know. Maybe others have noticed the same thing.
Juvenile Hairy Woodpecker (below) showing red on front of head – Peter Gulliver – June 2018
Hairy Woodpecker-Juvenile-Jennifer Schultz – from Birds and Blooms.com
