Red-headed woodpeckers are charismatic birds that bring a pop of color to forests and woodlands. With their striking appearance and interesting habits, there’s a lot more to these birds than meets the eye. Let’s dive into some fascinating facts about these vibrant woodpeckers.
1. All Adults Have The Same Plumage
It’s hard to miss the red-headed woodpecker with its vibrant, completely head, neck, and upper breast. While they sport the typical black and white body of most woodpeckers, instead of bars or speckles, they have solid blocks of color.
Their wings are black with a large white patch, and their underparts are completely white. In most woodpecker species, males and females have slight variations in plumage. This usually involves the male having a patch of red somewhere the female doesn’t. However for red-headed woodpeckers, both makes and females look exactly the same.
2. They are mainly birds of the eastern U.S.
The year-round range for the red-headed woodpecker includes most of the eastern half of the country. They only tend to be seen in New York, New Jersey, lower New England and around the Great Lakes during the spring and summer breeding season. They also extend out into the Dakotas, Nebraska and western Wyoming during the summer. Meanwhile, some parts of the Gulf and middle Texas only tend to see them in the winter.
3. Red-headed Woodpeckers often follow nut crops
While some birds stick to a specific territory, red-headed woodpeckers are more nomadic. They’re known to wander extensively, especially during winter and migration times, in search of food. This behavior adds to their allure, making their sightings more unpredictable. They travel wherever acorn and beech nut crops are most available.
4. They exhibit interesting migration strategies
While some red-headed woodpeckers reside in areas year-round, others embark on short seasonal migrations. Since food is often their main driver, their migrations and be irregular. During these migration times, they may travel together in loose flocks or family groups. In the fall, they tend to do their traveling during the daytime while in spring they travel more at night.
5. Juveniles don’t start out with a red head
Young red-headed woodpeckers can be difficult to identify, because they aren’t born with that easily recognizable red head. Their head and upper back are grayish-brown. As they age you will slowly start to see red patches appear on the head. The large white wing patch is still present and is a good identifier, however it will have two black bars running across it that will slowly fade to pure white as they get older.
6. Red-headed woodpeckers have an omnivorous diet
Red-headed woodpeckers have a mixed diet of insects, fruits and seeds. For insects they often choose cicadas, beetles, grasshoppers and even bees. Animal protein, like mice and other birds, is sometime taken but much more rare. Large nuts like acorns, beech nuts and