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Downy Woodpecker : Downy Woodpecker Puugtuyuli Although this little guy with the soft downy feathers is almost a deadringer for his cousin Hairy, he is not closely related at all. He is actually closer kin to the Ladder-backed woodpecker of the western part of the U.S. As with all woodpeckers in the LYK Delta, his Yupik name, Puugtulyuli, means "the one who is good at diving through the air and banging its head against something." Especially in late winter when their hormones start to kick in, listen to both male and female as they bang out their long, unbroken drum roll, trrrrrrrrrrrrrr, against a hollow tree with their small sharp beaks. They do this 9-16 times a minute, with only a few seconds pause between drums. This is a declaration of territorial ownership, similar to a no trespassing sign, for other Downy woodpeckers, and it's also an invitation to bring members of the opposite sex together in courtship. Quite often it is to restore a mating bond from the year before. Sometimes Downies have been known to remain paired for four successive years. Either member of the pair may do the drumming or tapping to attract the other to a potential nest site. Some of the ways besides drumming that the male uses to entice the female to be his mate have been described as "dancing," bill waving, "duetting" and a rather stilted floating flight around the female. When he is finally successful, search for a good nesting tree begins in earnest, especially by the female, who usually selects the site. Once just the right dead tree stub has been located, a small entrance hole is hammered out by both sexes. The nest cavity that is excavated is gourd-shaped, about 10 inches deep, and the pair leaves fine chips at the bottom on which the female lays her eggs. In order to camouflage the entrance to the cavity, the pair often dig it next to a tree fungus or lichen. Once their new home is ready, mating takes place and four or five white eggs are layed. If you've ever wondered why all cavity nesters lay white eggs, well, there just isn't any need for color camouflage, is there. So tens of millions of years of evolution have selected for the non-color, white, for their eggs. Both sexes incubate these white eggs, although it has been reported that the majority of the brooding is done by the male bird, most of it during the twilight night hours of Alaska's sun-filled spring. Brooding doesn't last for long with Downies, though, only about 12days. After that the really serious business begins, and, if you watch closely, you'll see both parents hurriedly bringing back beakfuls of insects to feed the ravenous hatchlings. They bring food to the nest every two to three minutes, and on their way back out of the cavity they carry away fecal sacs so the nest doesn't become fouled and smelly and so attract predators. In the evenings everything slows down and it is reported that the male does night duty in the nest with the young until the sun warms everything up and insects again become more available. Finally after about 23 very busy days the young have enough feathers and confidence to jump from the edge of the tree hole and start to fend for themselves. They continue to follow their parents around for a few weeks, however, until they learn the art of woodpecker subsistence. Then, voila, the adults are free to go their own way again, and they separate until the next year. I enjoy watching these little elves of the forest. Sometimes while skiing in winter I'll surprise one of them climbing about acrobatically on a tree limb or aggressively tapping on the bark of a dead tree. As I approach more closely, the bird will attempt to hide by slipping behind the other side of the tree, but eventually it will move out into the open again where I can watch it in full view. At the feeders my wife and I put out we often see the male or female hanging upside down on the suet they so much love to eat. Before they come in they announce themselves with a long whinny like that of a small horse. As they feed they utter a short, gentle, flat pik, similar to the call of a Hairy woodpecker but not so wild and ringing. As with all birds, the Downy also has a few other names: Batchelder's woodpecker; Black and white driller; Gairdner's woodpecker; Little guinea woodpecker; Little sapsucker; and Tommy woodpecker. Next time you meet these little guys in the forest, stop and watch them for a spell. You may be surprised by some of their behavior. » List of Yupik Birds

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