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Bird name:

Red-headed Woodpecker

Melanerpes erythrocephalus

Order

PICIFORMES

Family

Woodpeckers (Picidae)

Code 4

RHWO

Code 6

MELERY

ITIS

178186

ILLUSTRATION

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PHOTOS

CONSERVATION STATUS

Near-Threatened

The Red-headed Woodpecker has a large range, inhabiting much of the eastern half of the United States. Native to the United States and Canada, this bird prefers temperate, subtropical, or tropical forest and grassland ecosystems as well as savannas and even rural and urban areas. The global population of this bird is not specifically quantified but shows significant and rapid signs of decline that necessitate inclusion on the IUCN Red List. For this reason, the current evaluation status of the Red-headed Woodpecker is Near Threatened.

VOTE: ILLUSTRATION

Rate this Illustration: Excellent Very Good Good
Fair Below Avg Poor

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SUMMARY

Overview

Red-headed Woodpecker: Medium-sized woodpecker with black upperparts and tail, and white underparts and rump. The head, throat, and upper breast are dark red. Wings are black with large white patches. Bill, legs and feet are black. This is the only woodpecker in the east with a completely red head.


Range and Habitat

Red-headed Woodpecker: Breeds from Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Quebec south to Florida and the Gulf Coast; scarce in northeastern states. Spends winters in southern part of breeding range.

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SONGS AND CALLS

Listen to Call

Red-headed Woodpecker

Similar Sounding

Red-bellied Woodpecker Voice

Voice Text

"queark","queer,queer,queer","kerr-uck,kerr-uck"

INTERESTING FACTS

  • The Red-headed Woodpecker forages for food rather than excavate holes to find insects.
  • It is the only woodpecker that covers its cache of food with bark or wood. Grasshoppers are stored alive, wedged so tightly in a crevice escape is impossible.
  • This bird was featured on a United States Postal Service 2-cent stamp in 1996.
  • A group of woodpeckers has many collective nouns, including a "descent", "drumming", and "gatling" of woodpeckers.

RELATED BIRDS

RANGE MAP

Range Map for Red-headed Woodpecker

TERMINOLOGY

CREDITS

Author

Gary Owen Dick

Artist

Samira Belous

BIRD PHOTO SHARING

BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY AND CAMERAS

BINOCULARS AND OPTICS FOR BIRDING

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UnderpartsX
Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.
UpperpartsX
Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.
BreastX
The upper front part of a bird.
RumpX
The area between the uppertail coverts and the back of the bird.
4 and 6 letter alpha codesX

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

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ITIS CodesX

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) was established in the mid-1990�s as a cooperative project among several federal agencies to improve and expand upon taxonomic data (known as the NODC Taxonomic Code) maintained by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

To find the ITIS page for a bird species go to the ITIS web site advanced search and report page at http://www.itis.gov/advanced_search.html. You can enter the TSN or the common name of the bird. It will return the ITIS page for that bird. Another way to obtain the ITIS page is to use the Google search engine. Enter the string ITIS followed by the taxonomic ID, for example "ITIS 178041" will return the page for the Allen's Hummingbird.

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Parts of a Standing birdX
Head Feathers and MarkingsX
Parts of a Flying birdX