The downy woodpecker is the smallest woodpecker in the Six Mile Cypress Slough. You can tell that the one in the picture is a male woodpecker because the male has a red crown and the female downy does not.

Woodpeckers' bills are not attached directly to their skulls and that space is filled with shock-absorbing tissue. The ability of this tissue to bounce back into shape after each strike is comparable to the best man-made shock-absorbing materials.