WINTER BACKYARD BIRDS (U.S. AND CANADA)

Red-Bellied Woodpecker

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Melanerpes Carolinus

Adults have black bills and eyes, and dark gray legs and feet. Their feet are zygodactyls, with 2 toes forward and 2 backward.

Males have a red crown, forehead, and nape, upperparts are streaked black and white. There is a reddish patch on the ventral region. Their face and belly are dull gray, and uppertail coverts are white. Central tail feathers are barred black and white.

Females have only red nape and feathers above the bill.

Juveniles are similar to adults, but their bill is horn-colored, and have a brownish crown.

BILL: black, long, chisel-shaped.

SIZE: medium-sized woodpecker, measuring about 9 - 10.51 inches in length, with a wingspan of 15 - 18 inches.

WEIGHT: weighs about 72.5 grams.

COLOR: black, gray, red, brown and white.

A wide variety of fruits, nuts, seeds, berries, and tree sap, as well as arboreal arthropods and other invertebrates.

A variety of forested habitats, open and swampy woodlands, forests, swamps or wooded suburban habitats.

The eastern half of the United States, except for northern New England.

Their call is a rolling “churr-churr”, and cackling “kek-kek”, and some “cha” notes. It uses six different calls to communicate.

NEST: Both male and female excavate the nest cavity, and lined with wood chips.

EGGS: 3 - 8 smooth and glossy white eggs.

INCUBATION: 12 - 14 days, both sexes.

NESTLING PHASE: 24 - 27 days.

They often stick to main branches and trunks of trees, where they hitch in classic woodpecker fashion, leaning away from the trunk and onto their stiff tail feathers as they search for food hiding in bark crevices.