We have many downy, hairy and other woodpeckers that come to our suet feeder. This year we have seen this one with a strange golden tint where it is typically white. At first we thought it was covered with pollen or something, but it has been several weeks and it is still 'tinted' Any idea why it looks this way? FYI, this is the female because there is no red patch. I have a blurry photo of a male with the same tint.
Here is the blurry photo of the male.....
Do you have clay? If clay gets into the water that they take baths in, it could die they.
No clay that I am aware of....surrounded by woods, so most of the soil isn't clay like.
I did a google search and saw one line mentioning different tints to plumage, but the web site for the full info was subscription only.
Have you asked on the birdwatching forum?
No, I have not. I have had good luck with this forum in the past for identifying birds.
Thanks for the suggestions and info so far.
Better photo of the male.
That is a good picture.
That's interesting! Could be a number of different things.
Very unusual! It is a known condition, called xanthochromism: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xanthochromism
Seems it can be diet-related, maybe someone nearby has a feeder with stuff in containing yellow food pigment? That could account for more than one bird having it.
Resin
Thanks for that information. I am not sure about other local feeders, but at least there is a term for it. I do have other downy woodpeckers visit that are 'normal' colors(white/black).
