Nest: Live trees in open woodlands are preferred nesting sites of hairy woodpeckers. This species makes a nest entrance that exactly fits its head and body size (1.6 to 1.8 inches). Because this size also seems very convenient for starlings and flying squirrels, hairy woodpeckers are often troubled with invasions (Kilham 1968a, Lawrence 1967). Hairy woodpeckers will often excavate the entrance so it is camouflaged or hidden, such as on the underside of a limb. Nest heights vary from 15 to 45 feet but are commonly approximately 35 feet high. Hairies will often use the same hole year after year. Food: Hairy woodpeckers prefer to feed on insects on dead and diseased trees (Bent 1939). Approximately 80 percent of the diet is animal matter; adult and larval beetles, ants, and caterpillars are the most frequently eaten items. The primarily insect diet is supplemented with fruit, corn, acorns, hazelnuts, and many other species (Beal 1911, Bent 1939). The males forage in trees away from the nest for large insects (usually borers) located deep in the wood. Females forage close to the nest on the surface of trees, shrubs, or on the ground for small prey (Kilham 1968a). Downy woodpecker _Picoides pubescens_ L 5¾″ [Illustration] Habitat: Downy woodpeckers inhabit most of the wooded parts of North America. They are absent or rare in the arid deserts, and not common in the densely forested regions. Favorite habitat includes open woodland, hammocks, orchards, roadside hedges, farmyards, and urban areas (Bent 1939). Occasionally, these birds nest at elevations above 9,000 feet in the central Rockies (Bailey and Niedrach 1965). Most populations are considered nonmigratory; however, there is some movement from north to south and from high elevations to the plains during winter. Nest: Downy woodpeckers resemble common flickers in many of their nesting habits. Both prefer to excavate near the tops of dead trees in fairly open timber stands. They generally excavate new cavities each year in the same tree, but do not usually use cavities of other birds or reuse old cavities (Lawrence 1967). In the fall, these birds excavate fresh holes to use as winter roosts (Kilham 1962). Nest holes are normally 8 to 50 feet above the ground with an entrance hole 1.2 to 1.4 inches in diameter (Bent 1939). Food: The diet is about 75 percent animal and 25 percent vegetable material. Animal material consists mostly of economically harmful insects. Kilham (1970) found that beetles, mostly wood-boring larvae, made up 21.5 percent of the diet. Other materials included ants (21 percent), caterpillars (16.5 percent), weevils (3 percent), and fruit (6 percent). Like hairy woodpeckers, downy woodpeckers have been credited with reducing forest pests (MacLellan 1958, 1959, Olson 1953). Ladder-backed woodpecker _Picoides scalaris_ L 7″ [Illustration]