Woodpeckers

Hairy Woodpecker

Dryobates villosus

A medium-sized woodpecker nearly identical to the Downy but much larger, with a long chisel-like bill. A year-round resident in Kodiak's mature Sitka spruce and mixed forests.

Where to look

Mature spruce forests at Fort Abercrombie, Pillar Mountain slopes, and wooded areas near Kodiak town.

Habitat

Mature forests with large trees.

Diet

Wood-boring beetle larvae, carpenter ants, and other insects.

Natural history note

Hairy Woodpeckers follow other woodpeckers to excavated holes and steal their food, a habit ornithologists call kleptoparasitism.