Bird by bird

Does size matter?

Only when you’re territorial and trying to coexist at the feeders. The Red-bellied (left, female) and Hairy (right, male) Woodpeckers are well-matched…

and tolerate each other’s presence. But even the slightest mismatch…

as with the Downy Woodpecker (left, female) and the Hairy (right, male), and they won’t feed as equals.

We won’t even go into the size difference between the little female Downy and the enormous male Pileated Woodpecker here. But the little one boldly stands her ground and waits for her opportunity to take over.

There might be a lesson here for the rest of us.

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