Red-bellied Woodpecker

Red-bellied Woodpecker, male

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Red-bellied Woodpecker, female

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1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

The most common woodpecker in the Southeast, the Red-bellied Woodpecker is a familiar sight at bird feeders and in backyards. Yes, its belly is covered in a light red wash. But this woodpecker is easier to spot by the red on the back and top of its head.

Description

• Medium to large-sized woodpecker.
• Red hood from top of head to back of neck.
• Back barred black and white.

• Size: 24 cm (9 in)
• Wingspan: 33-42 cm (13-17 in)
• Weight: 56-91 g (1.98-3.21 ounces)

Sex Differences

Male with red hood extending to forehead, female with red nape only.

Sound

Call: a loud raspy "kwirr." Also shorter "cha" notes.

Conservation Status

The Red-bellied Woodpecker has extended its breeding range north over the last 100 years. Populations are increasing throughout most of the range.

Other Names

Pic à ventre roux (French)

Cool Facts

• The Red-bellied Woodpecker competes vigorously for nest holes with other woodpeckers, in one case even dragging a Red-cockaded Woodpecker from a nest cavity and killing it. But it is often evicted from nest holes by the European Starling. In some areas, half of all Red-bellied Woodpecker nesting cavities are taken over by starlings.

• Stores food in cracks and crevices of trees and fence posts. The woodpecker does not appear to defend its caches from other birds or mammals.

• The male Red-bellied Woodpecker has a longer bill and a longer, wider tongue tip than the female. These adaptations may allow the male to reach deeper into furrows to extract prey and may allow the sexes to divide up the resources in one area.

Sources used to construct this page:

Shackleford, C. E., R. E. Brown, and R. N. Conner. 2000. Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus). In The Birds of North America, No. 500 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.