The Downy Woodpecker is the most common North American woodpecker. The Downy Woodpecker breeds over a widespread area encompassing most of North America, except for the extreme Southwest and areas below treeline.

Downy Woodpeckers are approximately 6.5 inches (16 centimeters) in length. They are relatively small woodpeckers with a short, chisel-shaped bill. Downy Woodpeckers have plumage that is a sharply contrasting pattern of blacks and whites. Downy Woodpeckers have a black forehead and crown; males have a red patch on their nape (see drawing below), whereas females have a white patch on their nape. A wide white supercilium with a broad black band extends through the eye to the ear coverts, then down the neck. The lores, beneath the eye, and the sides of the neck are white. The black moustachial stripe extends to the neck. The chin, throat, and undersides are white. The lower neck, sides of the mantle, rump, and uppertail coverts are black. The back is almost entirely white. The upper coverts and flight feathers are black with large white spots. Variation exists in the extent of these white spots on the wing: Pacific Northwest, southwestern, and southern races show little white on the wings. The upper tail feathers are black, with all but the central feathers having white tips, which increase in amount toward the outertail. The typically prominent black bars on the white outer tail feathers vary in size. The undertail coverts are white with black spots.