APPARENT HYBRID DOWNY WOODPECKER × HAIRY WOODPECKER IN COLORADO

Abstract

In external appearance, a confounding Picoides woodpecker encountered in Lamar, Prowers County, Colorado, on 15 May 2014 was closest to the Downy Woodpecker (P. pubescens), though its bill appeared oversized and its supercilium narrow. But its vocalizations closely resembled those of the Hairy Woodpecker (P. villosus). Examination of photographs and sound spectrograms of this individual strongly suggest that it was a hybrid between the Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, a previously unreported combination.