Barry - The dirty look to it and larger size argues for a winter-plumaged Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. It is a winter visitor only, so the fact you've never seen one in your yard before should come as no surprise. I've yet to have it as a yard bird but have seen several this winter already. YBSS's diagnostic field mark among the seven woodpeckers we get in Tennessee is the white blaze in the wing. That should have just jumped out at you, wereas a Downy or a Hairy would have a white blaze in the middle of the back, a Red-bellied would have a barred back, a Red-headed or Pileated would have a black back and a Northern Flicker would look brown. James Brooks Bear Run Malone Hollow Jonesborough Washington County P.,S. On Saturday morning I saw six species of woodpecker at Winged Deer Park in Johnson City and the Red-headed colony is still on Green Road in Greene County. -------- Original Message -------- Subject: [TN-Bird] Help for woodpecker ID please Date: Wed, 7 Jan 2004 18:54:03 EST From: FINCH64@xxxxxxx Reply-To: FINCH64@xxxxxxx To: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx I saw a woodpecker in a neighbor's tree yesterday. I thought at first it was a Downy Woodpecker. It had that kind of black and white coloration but it also had some kind of a dirty color look to it. Also, it seemed too big to be a Downy Woodpecker. I thought maybe it was a Hairy Woodpecker. I got out the Sibley guide and was looking at the entries for those two species. But this woodpecker had bright red on it's head that went all the way to the base of the beak. Is that a characteristic for either a Downy or Hairy Woodpecker? I wondered if it might be a Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker but I have never seen one in our yard so I can't be sure. Also, lots of American Robins including many smaller ones (must be immatures) all over the trees in our yards here the past week or so. Thanks so much Barry Jernigan Murfreesboro, TN Rutherford County - between Almaville and Blackman =================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER===================== The TN-Bird Net requires you to sign your messages with first and last name, city (town) and state abbreviation. ----------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------- To post to this mailing list, simply send email to: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx ----------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, send email to: tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s) endorse the views or opinions expressed by the members of this discussion group. Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society web site at http://www.tnbirds.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ======================================================== =================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER===================== The TN-Bird Net requires you to sign your messages with first and last name, city (town) and state abbreviation. ----------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------- To post to this mailing list, simply send email to: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx ----------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, send email to: tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s) endorse the views or opinions expressed by the members of this discussion group. Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society web site at http://www.tnbirds.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ========================================================