Calls
Pik
Whinny: series of pik notes slightly downslurred
Begging
Drumming
Averages 16 beats/second (Pieplow 2017, Jackson and Ouellet 2020)
12.1 beats/drum (Jackson and Ouellet 2020)
1.5 second duration (Jackson and Ouellet 2020)
9-15 drums/minute (Jackson and Ouellet 2020)
Both sexes drum
Duet drumming
Drum year-round, more in winter and spring
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Comparison of woodpecker calls
Comparison of woodpecker drumming
References:
Jackson, J. A. and H. R. Ouellet (2020). Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (P. G. Rodewald, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.dowwoo.01
Pieplow, Nathan (2017). Peterson Field Guide to Bird Sounds of Eastern North America. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston, MA.