Red-headed Woodpecker

Melanerpes erythrocephalus Order: PICIFORMES Family: Woodpeckers (Picidae)
Red-headed Woodpecker Portrait
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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.

Listen to Call

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.



Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Red-headed Woodpecker

Related Birds

Acorn Woodpecker
Lewis's Woodpecker
White-headed Woodpecker
Red-breasted Sapsucker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
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Family Woodpecker (Picidae)_blue
Species Melanerpes erythrocephalus
Length8.5 - 9.25 Inches
Wingspan17 Inches

Red-headed Woodpecker

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.

● 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.
Red-headed Woodpecker Body Illustration
● 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