This male downy woodpecker is a small bird, typically 6-7 inches in length. This one was working the limb looking for bugs in a shaded leafy area. With the f/11 800 mm lens I was able to get a shot using high ISO (25600). The Canon R5 sensor did well in the low light situation showing the softness in the white feathers .
The red marking identifies this bird as a male. A female downy doesn’t have any red on her head, while a jueville will have a red cap on top. These birds can be challenging to distinguish from hairy woodpeckers although a downey is smaller than a hairy with a much smaller beak. In addition to size, which can be hard to tell when a bird is up on a limb like this, the outer white tail feathers can provide a clue. Black dots on those feathers are unique to a downy. A hairy woodpecker has no dark markings on their white tail feathers.