Black-backed Woodpecker: Small woodpecker with black back, black wings with white spots on flight feathers, barred flanks, white underparts. The hairy woodpecker prefers mature forests, and is less likely to be seen in built-up areas than the downy. The hairy woodpecker prefers mature forests, and is less likely to be seen in built-up areas than the downy. These two birds are easily confused. It consumes mostly insects with some plant material. Hairy Woodpeckers have a somewhat soldierly look, with their erect, straight-backed posture on tree trunks and their cleanly striped heads. Hairy and downy woodpeckers. The white outer tail feathers are spotted on Downy, but unmarked on Hairy. Also, the male Hairy’s red patch is often split in two, while the Downy’s is not. The downy woodpecker is also smaller than the hairy and has fleckled outer tail feathers, whereas those of the hairy woodpecker are fully white. ... Tail Feathers: White outer tail feathers with black spots. Legs and feet are black. The tail is black in the center with white outer tail feathers. David Lawton mentioned to me that there "are examples of Hairies with yellowish outer tail feathers in northern California" and indeed there are! It wields a much longer bill than the Downy Woodpecker's almost thornlike bill. ... has a plain white back and black wings with white spotting. The hairy woodpecker measures from 18–26 cm (7.1–10.2 in) in length, 33–43 cm (13–17 in) in wingspan and 40–95 g (1.4–3.4 oz) in weight. Although not 100% accurate, a better way to differentiate these two mimics is to look at their white outer tail feathers. Head has a conspicuous white cheek mark and yellow crown. The larger of two look alikes, the Hairy Woodpecker is a small but powerful bird that forages along trunks and main branches of large trees. Head has red hindcrown patch. Differing only in body size and bill length, they have almost identical plumage. Black bill is long and stout. Hairy Woodpecker: Small woodpecker with black-and-white upperparts, white underparts. This bird and the downy look alike, but the hairy’s beak is larger than the downy’s, and it has all-white outer tail feathers. Adult males have a red patch or two side-by-side patches on the back of the head; juvenile males have red or rarely orange-red on the crown. The hairy woodpecker is simply a larger version of the downy. This bird and the downy look alike, but the hairy’s beak is larger than the downy’s, and it has all-white outer tail feathers. In silhouette, the DOWO (above left) has a shorter bill--about half the length of the head or less, while the hairy's bill (below right) extends more than half the head length. Northwest birds have gray-brown breast, belly, and rump.