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
Highland Tinamou
Nothocercus bonapartei
Rotund chickenlike bird, far more often heard than seen. Like a dove but body is even more circular and tail shorter. Most similar to Great Tinamou but generally found at higher elevations; also warmer rufous-brown below with small buffy spots on back and grayer head. Lives on the ground in montane forests. Shy and difficult to see; most often seen running away along a trail. Listen for series of repeated nasal call notes.
Capped Wheatear
Oenanthe pileata
Boldly-patterned open country chat. Note the white eyebrow, black mask through the eye, and black band across the chest. The outer half of the tail is black and the inner half white, which is conspicuous in flight. Found in desert, dry savanna, and short grassland. Often perches up on fences and other structures. Variable song is a fast series of clucks and whistles.
Pringle's Puffback
Dryoscopus pringlii
A small bushshrike in which males and females are strikingly different. Males are black and gray on the upperparts, whitish below. Females are gray-brown on the upperparts, pale gray below. Local and generally uncommon in dry savanna and thornscrub. Usually in pairs. Similar to Black-backed and Northern Puffbacks, but noticeably smaller, with a pale base to the bill. The most common vocalization is an explosive, repeated “kweea,” but the species also gives scolding and ratcheting calls.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.