Bird name:

Red-headed Woodpecker

Melanerpes erythrocephalus

Order

PICIFORMES

Family

Woodpeckers (Picidae)

Code 4

RHWO

Code 6

MELERY

ITIS

178186

Breeding Location:

Forest edge, Grassland with scattered trees, Mountains

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Solitary nester

Breeding Population:

Yes but uncommon

Egg Color:

White

Number of Eggs:

4 - 7

Incubation Days:

12 - 14

Egg Incubator:

Female

Nest Material:

No nest materials.

Migration:

Some migrate

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General

Red-headed Woodpecker: Medium-sized woodpecker with black upperparts and tail, and white underparts and rump. Head, throat, and upper breast are dark red. Wings are black with large white patches. Sexes are similar. Juvenile has brown-black head, throat, and upper breast, and faintly streaked underparts.

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.

Breeding and 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.

Foraging and 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.

Readily Eats

Suet, Sunflower Seed, Nuts, Sugar Water, Fruit

Vocalization

Red-headed Woodpecker: Noisy during breeding season, uttering a bold and grating "queark", "queer,queer,queer", or "kerr-uck,kerr-uck."

Similar Species

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

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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.

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