How to Identify aRed-headed Woodpecker
Melanerpes erythrocephalus · 7.5–9.1 in (19–23 cm)
Male vs. female
Male
Entirely red head, black back, white underparts, and large white wing patches; sexes look alike.
Female
Identical to the male in the field.
Male photo: Mdf / Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Second photo: colleen / Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 2.0
Field marks
- Solid red head, neck, and throat
- Black back with bold white wing patches
- Clean white belly
- Striking black-white-red pattern in flight
Similar species
What it sounds like
A loud, harsh "tchur", higher and sharper than a Red-bellied Woodpecker’s churr.
Behaviour that gives it away
Catches insects in mid-air like a flycatcher, and stores food in crevices then covers it over with bark or wood.
Habitat & range
Open woods, oak savannas, parks, and dead standing timber across the eastern and central U.S.
When you'll see it
Depending on where in eastern and central North America you are, it is present all year and a summer visitor that arrives to breed.
What it eats
Insects, acorns, and fruit; one of the few woodpeckers that stores food.
Did you know?
They catch insects in mid-air like flycatchers and hoard acorns in bark cracks for winter.
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