Redheaded Woodpecker
(Melanerpes erythrocephalus)

Red-headed Woodpeckers range from southern Canada to the Gulf Coast, east of the Rocky Mountains and west of New England. They are birds of wooded savanna, open woodlands, riparian forests, orchards, suburbia, and agricultural lands. Preferred habitat includes dead trees for use as nest sites, relatively open undergrowth, and access to the ground for foraging. In the East, old mature woodlots with some undergrowth as well as suburbs and agricultural areas are typical redhead habitats, whereas in the South, clearings with tall stumps are used. Although uncommon throughout much of their range, Red-headed Woodpeckers are most abundant in the open forests of the Midwest. They were once common throughout much of the Northeast but declined with competition from European Starlings for nest sites.

Males excavate nest cavities in barkless, dead tree trunks or limbs from 6 feet to 75 feet above ground. The task takes about two weeks. In treeless regions, fence posts and utility poles are used, as well as more unusual sites such as old wagon wheels, pumps, and buildings. Both sexes share in the incubation and feeding, although the females increasingly assume the workload as the nestlings grow older. Males sometimes begin another excavation for a second brood.

Adult Red-headed Woodpeckers are unique and unmistakable, with a red head, neck and throat, black tail, black wings with large white patches at the secondaries, along with a white rump and underparts. Juveniles look similar but have streaked dusky brown backs, wings, and tails; streaked dusky brown heads; and some barring in the white wing patch. This plumage lasts through the summer and into the fall. The molt into the adult plumage begins in September with the head and back beginning to show adult coloring and lasts through the winter.