The Downy is usually a permanent resident, although northern birds may migrate short distances south, and mountain populations may move to lower elevations during severe winters. Seven subspecies are recognized, based on subtle differences in coloration, marking, and size. The Downy Woodpecker can be found across most of the United States and Canada. This canny little woodpecker has also been known to follow White-breasted Nuthatches to their seed caches to swipe food, and from fall through early spring, it regularly joins mixed-species flocks of chickadees, titmice, and nuthatches, thereby maximizing foraging opportunities. Sometimes, a Downy Woodpecker will follow the crow-sized Pileated Woodpecker, taking advantage of the larger bird's excavations and any insects it might overlook. Nimble and active, Downies can even cling upside-down like a nuthatch or chickadee. The Downy Woodpecker is able to forage for food where heavier woodpeckers can't, including on the slender upper branches of trees and shrubs and on weed stems. The Benefits of Being Smallīeing small has certain advantages. The Downy is the smallest woodpecker in North America and could be voted "most likely to visit a backyard feeder," where it holds its own alongside larger birds such as the Northern Cardinal and Blue Jay. Famed ornithologist John James Audubon remarked that the Downy Woodpecker "is perhaps not surpassed by any of its tribe in hardiness, industry, or vivacity." Other noted naturalists, from Alexander Wilson to Edward Forbush, sang its praises, with Forbush calling this familiar backyard bird a "model of patient industry and perseverance."
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