I am on vacation in Philadelphia. It is wintertime here and a nice suet hangs outside my window. Mostly I get sparrows. Yesterday and today I got a bird a bit larger than a sparrow with black and white wings (“Like a bar code” my wife says) and a red tuft or small crest on the (male’s?) head.
This ought to be easy. Easier if we could post photos.
Irving.
Downy Woodpecker. I woud have never guessed, very finch-like beak. Go figure.
Thanks.
Huh. I never see sparrows going to suet unless they’re really desperate. Me, I get a lot of titmice and the occasional chickadee, plus the local downies.
Note that the Hairy Woodpecker, which appears under “similar species” on the linked page, is very similar but a little larger and longer-billed. The Downy would perhaps be more likely at a city feeder, but either is possible.
Here’s a tip I got from an experienced birdwatcher:
That’s useful, but what I look for for confirmation is the presence or absence of black barring on the white outer tail feathers (Downy has it, Hairy doesn’t).