Red-headed Woodpecker
Melanerpes erythrocephalus
Incredibly striking bird: adults have brilliant crimson head, black back, large white wing patches, and white belly. These large patches of solid color are unlike other woodpeckers with more intricate patterns. Immatures have brownish heads. Found in open forests with clear understories, including pine plantations and standing timber in beaver swamps. Often social, found in family groups. Regularly seen caching nuts in the fall, perched on snags, and sallying out to catch insects. Occasionally visits feeders. Nests in cavities.
Identification
Adults are distinctly tricolored, with a black back and tail, a white belly and rump, and a red head and neck. The wings are black with white secondary remiges. Adult males and females are identical in plumage. Juveniles have similar markings, but their heads are grey. Red-headed woodpeckers are entirely crimson above their shoulders.<p>These are mid-sized woodpeckers. Both sexes measure from 19 to 25 cm (7.5 to 9.8 in) in length, with a wingspan of 42.5 cm (16.7 in). They weigh from 56 to 97 g (2.0 to 3.4 oz), with an average of 76 g (2.7 oz). Each wing measures 12.7–15 cm (5.0–5.9 in); the tail measures 6.6–8.5 cm (2.6–3.3 in), the bill measures 2.1–3 cm (0.83–1.18 in) and the tarsus measures 1.9–2.5 cm (0.75–0.98 in). The maximum longevity in the wild is 9.9 years.<p>This species gives a tchur-tchur call or a drum on its territory.
Taxonomy
The English naturalist Mark Catesby described and illustrated the red-headed woodpecker in his book The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands, which was published between 1729 and 1732. Catesby used the English name "The Red-headed Wood-pecker" and the Latin Picus capite toto rubro. In 1758, the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae to its tenth edition. He included the red-headed woodpecker and coined the binomial name Picus erythrocephalus, citing Catesby's book. The specific epithet combines the Classical Greek ἐρυθρός, eruthros, meaning "red", and κεφαλή, kephalos meaning "headed". The type locality is South Carolina. The red-headed woodpecker is one of 24 species now placed in the genus Melanerpes, which was introduced by the English ornithologist William John Swainson in 1832 specifically to accommodate the red-headed woodpecker. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognized.
- Scientific name
- Melanerpes erythrocephalus
- Authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Order
- Piciformes
- Family
- Picidae
- Genus
- Melanerpes
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
Migration pattern: Complete migrants.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Hispaniolan Trogon
Priotelus roseigaster
This strikingly colored denizen of montane woodlands (and less often, mangrove swamps) is rather sedate. It is often found sitting upright and rather motionless, typically in pairs. One's first impression is often of a rather long and largish bird with a brilliant red belly, emerald back, and blackish head. No similar species occur within its range. Song is a tremulous “whut-will,” with second note longer and trailing off at end. The first note is sometimes omitted and second note is sometimes given as doublet or triplet. Calls include a shrill “whee” and soft coos. Though rather vocal, calling birds are difficult to locate due ventriloquial quality of their vocalizations.
Red-masked Parakeet
Psittacara erythrogenys
A medium-sized green parakeet with a long tail and red underwings and thighs (red on the thighs not easy to see). Similar to Mitred Parakeet, but usually has more red on the face, extending below and behind the eye, as well as red patches on the underwing. Usually seen in pairs or flocks of up to 30 birds in lowland dry forest. Calls are loud screeches. Introduced to the Hawaiian Islands and California.
African Dusky Flycatcher
Muscicapa adusta
A small, dumpy, buff-brownish flycatcher with a pale throat, a short eyebrow in front of the eye, a mostly plain crown, and indistinct mottling on the breast. It prefers thicker woodland and the edges of evergreen and riverine forest, perching at lower and middle levels and sallying to catch insects, or occasionally sitting on the ground. High-pitched “tzeet” and “tsirit” calls often betray its presence. The similar migrant Spotted Flycatcher has a longer tail and wings than the African Dusky Flycatcher, and it also has distinct streaking on the crown. The Gambaga Flycatcher is paler and mostly restricted to arid woodland.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.