Red-headed Woodpecker

Melanerpes erythrocephalusOrder: PICIFORMES Family: Woodpeckers (Picidae)

Codes: Common Name: RHWO Scientific Name: MELERY ITIS Taxonomic No.: 178186

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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.

Topo Map: Tree-clinging-like Body

Listen to Call

Similar Sounding

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.

Bird Term Glossary

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Red-headed Woodpecker

● Song: "queark","queer,queer,queer","kerr-uck,kerr-uck"

● Foraging & Feeding: Red-headed Woodpecker: Eats insects, spiders, millipedes, and centipedes, seeds, various nuts, and berries; forages by hunting from low perches, flying down to ground to pick up prey or nuts.

● Breeding & nesting: Red-headed Woodpecker: Four to seven white eggs are laid in a cavity drilled in a limb of a living or dead tree, mostly by the male. Incubation ranges from 12 to 14 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: Red-headed Woodpecker: Red-bellied Woodpecker has barred black-and-white upperparts and much less red on head and neck.

Flight Pattern

Strong flight with slow steady shallow wing beats., Sallies for flying insects, then returns to same or nearby perch.

● Range & 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.

^BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester

^PopulationYes but uncommon

^MigrationSome migrate

^Weight2.5 Ounces

Tree-clinging-like Body

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Breast

The upper front part of a bird.

Rump

The area between the uppertail coverts and the back of the bird.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

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.

Field Guide to Birds of North America