The Hairy Woodpecker is shyer than its smaller cousin, the Downy Woodpecker and is more a forest bird. Hairy Woodpeckers help save both forest and fruit trees by destroying many harmful insects, making it one of the most beneficial birds. It extract insects, such as the wood-boring beetle, from holes with its barbed tongue. During the courtship ceremony it hammers on dead limbs and to proclaim its territory. It range covers most of North America from Alaska and across Canada south to the Gulf of Mexico.
Some northern birds migrate south for the winter.