Red-bellied Woodpecker

Melanerpes carolinusOrder: PICIFORMESFamily: Woodpeckers (Picidae)

General

Red-bellied Woodpecker: Medium-sized woodpecker with black-and-white barred upperparts and pale gray-brown underparts with indistinct red wash on belly. Head has bright red crown and nape, and pale brown face. White rump, white wing patches, and white-barred central tail feathers are visible in flight. Female is similar but has gray cap. Juvenile has gray-brown head.

Range and Habitat

Red-bellied Woodpecker: Breeds from South Dakota, Great Lakes, and southern New England south to the Gulf Coast and Florida. Northernmost birds sometimes migrate south for winter. Inhabits open and swampy woodlands; comes into parks during migration and to feeders in winter.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"churr-churr", "querr-querr", "chuck-chuck-chuck"

Interesting Facts

Red-bellied Woodpeckers are attracted to noises that resonate. The male will tap loudly on metal gutters, aluminum roofs and even vehicles to attract a mate.

The male has a wider tongue tip and longer bill than the female, allowing him to reach deeper into crevices to find prey. Studies have shown the male forages on the tree trunk, while the female forages mostly on limbs.

The European Starling will often evict the Red-bellied Woodpecker from its nest.

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

Author

Gary Owen Dick

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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-bellied Woodpecker

Red-bellied Woodpecker: Medium woodpecker, black-and-white barred upperparts, pale gray-brown underparts with indistinct red wash on belly. Head has bright red crown and nape, pale brown face. White rump, white wing patches, and white-barred central tail feathers are visible in flight.

● Song: "churr-churr", "querr-querr", "chuck-chuck-chuck"

● Foraging & Feeding: Red-bellied Woodpecker: Eats insects, fruits, vegetables, seeds, and sap from sapsucker drill wells.

● Breeding & nesting: Red-bellied Woodpecker: Three to eight white eggs are laid in tree cavity built by both parents, or in an abandoned hole of other woodpeckers. Incubation ranges from 11 to 14 days and is carried out by both parents (male at night, female during the day).

● Similar species: Red-bellied Woodpecker: Golden-fronted Woodpecker has black tail without white bars, yellow-orange nape, yellow patch at base of upper mandible, and indistinct yellow wash on belly.

Flight Pattern

Undulating flight with fairly rapid wing beats interspersed with periods of roller-coaster flight with wings folded.

Red-bellied Woodpecker Breeding Male Body Illustration

● Range & Habitat: Red-bellied Woodpecker: Breeds from South Dakota, Great Lakes, and southern New England south to the Gulf Coast and Florida. Northernmost birds sometimes migrate south for winter. Inhabits open and swampy woodlands; comes into parks during migration and to feeders in winter.

^BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester

^PopulationCommon to fairly common

^MigrationNonmigratory

^Weight2.4 Ounces

Field Guide to Birds of North America