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Definition of hairy woodpecker
: a common North American woodpecker (Picoides villosus) closely resembling the downy woodpecker but larger with a longer bill
Examples of hairy woodpecker in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web One challenge was to discern the hairy woodpecker from its doppelganger, the downy woodpecker.
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Adrian Higgins, Washington Post, "The percussive appeal of the woodpecker," 17 July 2019 Red-bellied, downy and hairy woodpeckers love peanuts, a high-protein, high-energy food, as do other songbirds.
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Evan Macdonald, cleveland.com, "No one harmed in Christmas house fire in Broadview Heights," 25 Dec. 2017 The forest also is home to bear, coyote, deer and birds from hairy woodpeckers to red-breasted sapsuckers.
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Lynda V. Mapes, The Seattle Times, "A vast new green jewel for the region in largest-ever community campaign led by Forterra," 25 Dec. 2017
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hairy woodpecker.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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Time Traveler for hairy woodpecker
The first known use of hairy woodpecker was circa 1728
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