The Red Bellied Woodpecker

Description

The Red-bellied woodpecker is often confused with the Red-headed woodpecker as the top of its head is pale red back to the nape of its neck. The color on the belly is actually more of a pale pinkish to orange and on the female quite small and often unnoticeable. The male also has a longer and wider bill than the female. The rest of this medium-sized woodpecker is the typical black and white barred pattern, with white to pale grey across the breast and along the sides.

Territory

These woodpeckers are found all along the eastern half of the United States, stopping roughly along the edge of the plains states. They will roam as far north as the Dakotas and Great Lakes regions. While not traditionally migratory, these birds do relocate from areas where winter conditions are severe and are sometimes found in milder climates from which they are virtually absent during the summer. These woodpeckers prefer densely wooded areas, or suburban areas with mature trees.

Behavior

This type of woodpecker is a omnivore, eating a wide variety of plant and animal foods. Even in summer when insects are prevalent, nearly half of their diet will be fruit, berries, nuts and seeds. In the winter more than three quarters of their diet will be seeds, nuts, corn and sometimes tree sap from sapsucker wells. They will also frequent backyard feeders for seeds, nuts and suet. Their insect prey are primarily ants, flies, grasshoppers and caterpillars. When hunting, the Red-bellied prefers the higher branches of medium size and isn’t usually seen feeding on the trunk.

During the spring breeding season a new nest cavity will be excavated by the male of the pair. Sometimes the same tree will be used, with the new cavity below the old. Both parents share the feeding and caring responsibilities, and as with other woodpecker species the male roosts with the eggs and hatchlings. Once the fledglings leave the nest, the pair dissolves until the next breeding cycle.

Quick facts

The Red-bellied woodpecker is a fierce competitor for nest sites. They are not above stealing the nests of less dominant woodpeckers in the territory, and there are accounts of this woodpecker actually pulling other birds from their nest holes and killing them in order to claim the excavated hole. But even this large, powerful and apparently tough woodpecker can’t compete with the European Starling. In parts of its range, half the Red-bellied Woodpecker nesting cavities are taken over by starlings.
Like many of the omnivorous woodpeckers the Red-bellied woodpecker stores food in available cracks and crannies of trees and fence posts. However, while other hoarding woodpeckers will aggressively defend their food stores, the Red-bellied woodpecker does not appear to share that drive and typically doesn’t defend its food stores from other birds or mammals. Hoarding isn’t a year-round behavior for the red-bellied woodpecker either. The Red-bellied will store food in the fall and winter only.
The Red-bellied woodpecker shares its range and habitat with a variety of other woodpecker species and relates to each one a little differently. When confronted with a Red-headed woodpecker in its territory, the Red-bellied woodpecker will usually move on rather than try to compete. However the Red-bellied and Golden-fronted woodpeckers will not allow each other in their respective territories and so a confrontation will usually occur when one crosses another’s boundary.

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