Photos of a Probable White-headed Woodpecker X Hairy Woodpecker

This is such an interesting bird. When I initially saw the bird I knew it wasn’t a White-headed and the only thing that popped into my mind was Hairy. Yet it was too dark which left either a melanistic Hairy or, as the photos suggest, a hybrid of the two species we both initially thought it was. One thing that isn’t mentioned in the write-up is that the call sounded much like a Hairy Woodpecker. Indeed, this was a very fun find.

I certainly can’t argue with your conclusions — the plumage intermediacy is pretty striking. Although I’m not aware of this combination (or any hybrids involving Hairy or White-headed), hybrids within New World Picoides certainly exist (e.g. Downy X Nuttall’s, Ladder-backed X Nuttall’s). I was curious about vocalizations — Shawneen says it gave a Hairy-like call, but this isn’t too different from how a single note (from a normally 2-3 noted) White-headed call would sound. It would be interesting (if the bird is relocated) to see if it ever gave double-note calls.

This is a very interesting find considering the plumage differences and large range of overlap for White-headed and Hairy. It seems odd to find a White-headed x Hairy hybrid considering it may not have been reported by anyone in the past. I’m certainly not arguing with the authors or with Kimball as he has handled a lot more White-headed and Hairy’s than I have and he co-authored the BNA account for WHWO.

I know in the White-headed’s I have handled between San Diego and the southern Cascades, some occasionally show a few white-tipped feathers on the back and sometimes a small white patch of feathers on the belly. I seem to recall most of those were female and I always wondered if the white patch would have been larger if they were not incubating at the time. The dorsal and ventral white patches were nothing to the extent of the white on this photographed individual. Kimball’s comment about the vocalizations is an important note as both species can sound quite similiar, even when you are focused on searching for one species or the other.

It took me hours to get decent photos of White-headed’s when I was researching them, so as a birder and photographer, I have to congratulate you guys on some great photos and a great find!

Amazing!!! A few years ago (2006??) I observed a White-headed Woodpecker at a nest in Stevens County, WA that was acting suspiciously amorous with a Hairy Woodpecker – no other White-headeds observed in the area. I took notes which I have somewhere. I meant to go back and confirm the pairing absolutely, but never made it. I’m in Idaho for the summer so I don’t have access to my notes….

I ended up on this site having googled “Hairy Woodpecker Hybrid”. I live in northern Westchester county, NY adjacent to Wards Pound Ridge Reservation, a 4700 acre preserve and I get alot of woodpecker activity at my bird feeders ( 5 different species) today I initially thought I had a pair of hairy woodpeckers on the tube feeder and when I trained the binoculars on them it looked like the female was feeding the male, who was on the opposite side of the feeder from me. However, when it came into view something looked strange and then I realized this bird had the red in the wrong spot. Instead of having it on the back of the head like a male Hairy Woodpecker it had it on the forehead like a Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker, but as I looked at it closer I realized it wasn’t a Sapsucker as it did not have the large white wing patches and it’s back was not stiped. Instead it’s back between the wings was white. As best as I can describe it would be, a female Sapsucker’s head on the body of a Hairy Woodpecker. This was not the first time this bird was at the feeder ,because a few days ago my wife mentioned that she had seen a strange looking woodpecker that she could not identify. I will try get some photos tomorrow if it returns. Has anybody heard of Hairy x Sapsucker hybrid? Is it common?

I have been studying the reproductive biology of these two sympatric species in eastern Washington for the last 8 years. I have monitored over 70 nests of each species and have wondered if hybrids between the two existed. The bird in the photo sure looks like it has the plumage characteristics of both species and my guess would be it is “probably” a HAWO x WHWO hybrid. But, can we rule out a Black-backed Woodpecker (BBWO) x White-headed Woodpecker hybrid? In my research, the peak nest initiation period for HAWO and WHWO are separated by about 3 weeks, which would make it more difficult for the two to overlap. HAWO and BBWO nesting chronology is much closer. The grayish sides resemble the fine gray barring on the side of a BBWO and black-back could account for the darker back and lack of spotting in the wings. Also, I would expect the white face of a WHWO to wash out the facial pattern of a HAWO…where it would be similar to a BBWO if it were a hybrid BBWO x HAWO. Notice how behind the eye is a black patch siimilar to a BBWO. But, this doesn’t account for the missing yellow on top of the head given this is a male bird. Also, this is probably a 1 year or older bird as a young of the year should have red on top of the head. Very cool photos and wonderfully documented.

Sorry, in my previous post, I meant, “But can we rule out a Black-backed Woodpecker (BBWO) x Hairy Woodpecker hybrid”. Not, BBWO x WHWO.

It’s been a while and I have had a second chance to review this report. I agree with Kimball’s comments and Jeff’s. The main thing that puzzles me beyond all the comments above is the barring on the back. The only Hairies I have seen with this trait are juveniles, and juvenile plumage can be problematic to assess in the field in birds that have dispersed from the natal grounds. I have also seen juvenile Hairies in late summer that have already lost the red crown patch in favor of the nuchal patch. June is awfully early for this to have occurred, however, especially for this relatively high-elevation (approx 6k ft) site.

In my research and experience with these two species, this is indeed the first time I have ever heard of the possibility of this hybrid combination. I recently saw an account of another previously unreported Hairy hybrid possibility, but I can’t dig it out. It was from the east, and was I believe a bird that showed intermediate traits between Downy and Hairy (which itself would be difficult to ascertain!). This may just be semantics, but because it is the first report and because it is a sight record, I would be more comfortable calling it a “possible” rather a “probable” hybrid individual. I will put it in my upcoming woodpecker book as follows:

“A … bird observed in the field in Oregon in 2010 showed intermediate plumage traits between Hairy and White-headed woodpeckers.”

I’m glad Dave and Shawneen were in those woods at the right time. This bird’s aberrant plumage would have certainly gone unnoticed and unreported by many birders. Excellent observation and excellent report.

Good points, Steve. If this were a Black-backed Woodpecker (BBWO) x Hairy Woodpecker (HAWO) hybrid, the barring on the middle of the back could be the result of the black back feathers of a BBWO mixed with the white middle back feathers of a HAWO causing the barred pattern in a hybrid(?). Also, the checkered appearance of the white in the primaries looks earily like the checkered pattern found in a BBWO. That along with the more prominent black in the head pattern and the fine barring on the side evident in some of the pics makes me think this is more “probably” a BBWO x HAWO than a WHWO x HAWO. Although, as I stated previously, that doesn’t explain the lack of yellow in this male birds head…although yellow coloring may not be dominant and we may never know that for sure. The other possibility is that this is simply a Hairy Woodpecker that is partially melanistic accounting for the overall blacker plumage. I guess we will always continue to speculate about this unique bird. Thanks to Dave and Shawneen for documenting this bird!