Female Ladderback or Downy woodpecker?

[Maestro]

I always get these confused. This one does not have the red cap characteristic of the males and the pattern on the back reminds of a ladderback, but the downys are so plentiful around here that it is probably a downy.

I took this today, 2/18/07.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v116/maestros/Nature/Downy_Woodpecker-1.jpg

Here is a known Downy that I snapped in October.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v116/maestros/Nature/blackandwhitebird3.jpg

[Vern]

I am not a bird ID expert by any means but that looks like a female Ladder-backed. Nice catch!

[Maestro]

Thanks Vern. I am leaning that way too.

[betsy]

And so you should be, Maestro! Your biggest, most obvious clue is the absence of that white patch in the middle of the upper back that the Downy has. Then, of course, the Ladderbacked has fine, horizontal black and white bars, while the Downy looks more like black with white spots arranged in irregular lines. Congratulations on finding one -- they aren't all that common.

[Maestro]

Thanks Betsy. This is actually my second one I think. While I was down taking pictures of the eagles in Llano I also snapped a few pictures of different small birds. One was this woodpecker which I think is a male ladderback. The picture is awful because there was virtually no light in the brush where I was and it was drizzling. I had to up the ISO on my camera which leads to graininess in the picture. I had to take out the "noise" with a Photoshop plug-in, but it left the picture almost looking like a drawing in places but for documentation purposes it works.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v116/maestros/Nature/Male_ladderback.jpg

Am I correct? Is this a male ladderback? It has the red cap and the distinct white lines so I think this is also a male ladderback. Let me know. And thanks again. I'm really having too much fun with this. But I guess that is the point. :)

[betsy]

Yup -- male Ladderback. Congratulations -- you've got a pair! Keep on having fun, Maestro -- you're right -- that's what it's all about. :) It's fun looking at the results of your fun, too.

btw, check your private msgs again -- I answered your private msg question there.

[lei]

Maestro, nice shot on LBW. I have been looking for them locally in Arbor Hills for quite a while. In only one close encounter last year, I was able to snap a few shots. Here is a female LBW not too fuzzy,

http://www.pbase.com/3stones/image/69603901.jpg

[Vern]

Another nice catch on the male. It's nice to have a pair:)

[dihoekstra]

Great pictures of Ladder Backs. I got this picture of a downy (female, I presume) last week. Here it is for comparison. Thanks for posting pictures...it really helps us beginners file them in memory. Much more effective for me than just the books. Sorry this picture is a little fuzzy. These guys won't keep still for long!

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/140/385961854_12e46335a1.jpg

[Maestro]

Here is another Downy to add to the comparisons.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v116/maestros/Nature/blackandwhitebird7a.jpg