Downy Woodpecker vs Great Tit
Picoides pubescens comparé à Parus major
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribut | Downy Woodpecker | Great Tit |
|---|---|---|
| Nom scientifique | Picoides pubescens | Parus major |
| Ordre | Piciformes | Passeriformes |
| Famille | Picidae | Paridae |
| Statut de conservation | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Longueur | 16,0 cm (6.3 in) | 14,0 cm (5.5 in) |
| Envergure | 28,0 cm (11.0 in) | 24,0 cm (9.4 in) |
| Poids | 27,0 g (0.95 oz) | 18,0 g (0.63 oz) |
| Régime alimentaire | Insects and larvae extracted from bark, supplemented with seeds, berries, and suet at feeders. Often … | Insects and spiders in summer, seeds and nuts in winter. A frequent and dominant visitor … |
| Taille de la couvée | -- | 3-18 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Size Comparison
Habitat Comparison
Downy Woodpecker
Deciduous and mixed forests, orchards, parks, and suburban areas. The most common woodpecker at feeders in North America.
Great Tit
Deciduous and mixed woodland, parks, gardens, and hedgerows. Readily uses nest boxes. Highly adaptable to human environments.
Song & Call Comparison
Downy Woodpecker
A sharp 'pik' or 'peek' contact call. Drums on resonant branches with a rapid, light tattoo — softer than larger woodpeckers. Also gives a high descending whinny 'keeer-keeer'.
Great Tit
A repetitive, teacher-teacher 'tee-cher, tee-cher, tee-cher'. Also gives ringing 'pink-pink' alarm. Highly versatile singer; over 40 song variants recorded from a single male.
Geographic Range & Migration
Downy Woodpecker
North America from Alaska and Canada south through the United States, excluding the arid Southwest.
Great Tit
Widespread across Europe and Asia from Britain to Japan, and south to North Africa and Southeast Asia.
Statut de conservation
Downy Woodpecker
Great Tit
How to Tell Them Apart
Downy Woodpecker
Black and white plumage with a broad white stripe down the back. Black wings with white spots. Males have a small red patch on the nape.
Short, chisel-shaped, dark bill — noticeably shorter than the similar hairy woodpecker
Great Tit
Blue-black head with white cheeks. Olive-green back, yellow underparts with a broad black central stripe. White wing bar and blue-grey tail.
Short, stout, dark bill
About These Birds
Downy Woodpecker
The downy woodpecker is the smallest and most widespread woodpecker in North America. Its small size allows it to forage on thin branches and weed stems that larger woodpeckers cannot access. Downies often join mixed-species flocks in winter, benefiting from the extra vigilance of multiple species watching for predators.
Great Tit
The great tit is the largest European tit and one of the most studied wild birds in the world. Research at Wytham Woods in Oxford has monitored great tit populations since the 1940s, contributing enormously to ecology and evolution. These innovative birds famously learned to open milk bottle tops in 20th-century Britain.