Red Headed Woodpeckers That Come to Your Backyard Feeders
There are several red headed woodpeckers in North America. Here is a photo gallery to help you identify the ones coming to your backyard or feeder. The birds are arranged from smallest to largest. There are also red headed songbirds with red on their head and also on their bodies. I often wonder why there are so many red birds?
Photos: left - male, right- female
Downy Woodpecker (size: 6-7")
Picoides pubescens
| Male: | small red patch on back of head | | Female: | no red on head | | Diet: | insects and wood-boring insects eggs, ccoons andlarvae; nuts, fruit and seeds | | Feeder food: | suet, sunflower seeds | | Voice: | various calls | | Nests: | excavates cavity nest in dead wood | | Birdhouse: | rarely accepts nest box | | Note: | bill is half the length of the head. bothe sexes havedark spots on white outer tail feathers.
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Photo credit: left-male - Donna Long 2007; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Digital Library http://images.fws.gov
Photos: left-male; right-female
Hairy Woodpecker (size: 8-9 1/2")
Picoides villosus
| Male: | red on nap of neck | | Female: | no red on nape of neck | | Diet: | insects and wood-boring insects |
Feeder: | suet, sunflower seeds | | Voice: | various calls | | Nest: | excavates cavity nest in live wood | | Birdhouse: | rarely accepts nest box | | Note: | Red at nape of neck. Bill is of equal length with thehead |
Photo credit: left male- toddkoyms on Flickr 7/13/07; right female - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Digital Library http://images.fws.gov
Photo shows female
Northern Flicker (size: 12 1/2 - 13")
Colaples auratus
| Male: | "yellow shafted" morph - red crescent shape on back ofhead; black"mustache" stripe on chin;
"red-shafted" morph - no red on back ofneck, red moustache on face with red under tail and wings | | Female: | same as male but no mustache | | Diet: | searches bark for insects; searches ground for ants;eats berries and nuts | | Feeder: | will come to feeders | | Voice: | loud kekekeke and various other sounds | | Nest: | excavates cavity nest in tree, post or cactus | | Birdhouse: |
will use a nest box | | Note: | spends time on ground searching for ants |
Photo credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Digital Library http://images.fws.gov
Red-headed Woodpecker (size: 9 - 9 1/2 ")
Melanerpeserythrocephalus
| Male: | completely red head, white black back | | Female: | same as male; completely red head, | | Diet: | eats mostly insects, grubs, earthworms, spiders, nutsberries, seeds and fruit; catches insects while flying | | Feeder food: | will come to feeder for seeds and suet | | Voice: | loud kweer or kwrring notes; drumssoftly in short bursts | | Nest: | Male excavates nest in living or newly dead tree orabandoned holes | | Birdhouse: | Will nest in boxes | | Note: | only eastern woodpecker with an all red head |
Photo credit:U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Digital Library http://images.fws.gov
Pileated Woodpecker (size: 16 - 19")
Dryocopus pileatus
| Male: | Red crested head, red mustache on chin | | Female: | Red crested head, no mustache on chin | | Diet: | ants, beetles and other insects, seeds, fruits | | Feeder food: | suet mixes | | Voice: | wuk-wuk-wukcall | | Nest: | excavates cavity in dead wood | | Birdhouse: | no | | Note: | eats large number of carpenter ants |
Photo credit: Noel Lee on Flickr 7/13/07
From Red Headed Woodpeckers Return to Birds
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