General
Red-cockaded Woodpecker: Medium-sized woodpecker with black-and-white barred back, black cap and nape, white face, throat, and breast, and black-spotted sides, flanks, and belly. Dark eye-line terminates in a small, red cockade at rear of cap. Wings are black with white bars; tail is black with black-spotted white outer feathers. Female is similar but lacks red cockade.
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.
Breeding and 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.
Foraging and Feeding
Red-cockaded Woodpecker: Eats insects, berries, and nuts; forages by drilling for insects on trunks of pine trees, circling tree as it climbs.
Readily Eats
Suet
Vocalization
Red-cockaded Woodpecker: Call is a "yank, yank", a hoarse "stripp", or a high-pitched "tsick."
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.