Red-cockaded Woodpecker

Picoides borealisOrder: PICIFORMES Family: Woodpeckers (Picidae)

Codes: Common Name: RCWO Scientific Name: PICBOR ITIS Taxonomic No.: 178257

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Overview

Red-cockaded Woodpecker: Medium woodpecker, black-and-white barred back, black cap, nape, white face, throat, breast, black-spotted sides, flanks, belly. Dark eye-line ends in red cockade at rear of cap. Black wings have white bars. Black tail has black-spotted white outer feathers.

Range and Habitat

Red-cockaded Woodpecker: Historically, resident from southeastern Oklahoma and Maryland to the Gulf Coast and central Florida; classified as endangered throughout its current range in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. Found in pinelands; requires old-growth trees for habitat.

Topo Map: Tree-clinging-like Body

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"yank, yank", "stripp", "tsick"

Interesting Facts

The Red-cockaded Woodpecker one of the few bird species endemic to the United States.

While other woodpeckers bore out cavities in dead trees where the wood is rotten and soft, this is the only one which excavates cavities exclusively in living pine trees.

A cockade is a ribbon or ornament worn on a hat. The "cockade" of this woodpecker is the tiny red line on the side of the head of the male. It may be hidden and is very difficult to see in the field.

A group of woodpeckers has many collective nouns, including a "descent", "drumming", and "gatling" of woodpeckers.

Bird Term Glossary

Author

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Artist

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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-cockaded Woodpecker

● Song: "yank, yank", "stripp", "tsick"

● Foraging & Feeding: Red-cockaded Woodpecker: Eats insects, berries, and nuts; forages by drilling for insects on trunks of pine trees, circling tree as it climbs.

● Breeding & nesting: Red-cockaded Woodpecker: Two to five white eggs are laid in a living pine tree cavity lined with dried wood chips. Nest is built 12 to 70 feet above the ground primarily by the male and helpers, who are usually males from the previous breeding season. Incubation ranges from 10 to 15 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: Red-cockaded Woodpecker: Hairy Woodpecker has a black ear patch, white back, unmarked white underparts, unmarked white outer tail feathers, and different voice.

Flight Pattern

Alternates several rapid wing beats with short glide with wings partially folded to sides, producing up-and-down flight.

Red-cockaded Woodpecker Breeding Male Body Illustration

● Range & Habitat: Red-cockaded Woodpecker: Historically, resident from southeastern Oklahoma and Maryland to the Gulf Coast and central Florida; classified as endangered throughout its current range in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. Found in pinelands; requires old-growth trees for habitat.

^BreedingMonogamous, Mates for life, Small colonies

^PopulationYes but uncommon

^MigrationNonmigratory

^Weight1.6 Ounces

Tree-clinging-like Body

Belly

The ventral part of the bird, or the area between the flanks on each side and the crissum and breast. Flight muscles are located between the belly and the breast.

Breast

The upper front part of a bird.

Cap

The area on top of the head of the bird.

Face

The front part of the head consisting of the bill, eyes, cheeks and chin.

Nape

Also called the hindneck or collar, it is the back of the neck where the head joins the body.

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