Downy Woodpecker - Hormonal Male

Downy Woodpecker Picoides pubescens

    Tonight, on our street, we observed a pair of Downy Woodpeckers, clearly engaged in courtship activity. They seemed to be jousting with each other and the following pictures clearly show the state of the male's agitation. The red patch on the back of his head, normally flat, is is visibly raised. The female's reaction seemed to swing between mild interest to flying to the trunk of the next tree and ignoring him!