The LipsYard suet feeder is getting quite a workout these days from the Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens.) The red spot on the back of the head often causes birders to call it a Red Headed Woodpecker, but their entire head is red.
This one is a male because of the spot on the head. Females don't get the mark at all. When they're not feasting on suet, they're banging their beaks into trees for bugs. They have long, barbed tongues and sticky, glue-like saliva, which help them catch insects.
Congress returns to session today to continue their pecking away at the Bush administration's war in Iraq.
