Backyard Birder: Red-bellied Woodpecker

Red-bellied Woodpecker (male) by J V O Weaver

One of the prettiest and most interesting birds in our Niceville, Fla backyard is the Red-bellied Woodpecker.  We have a couple of families of them that feast on our birdfeeder.  We keep it filled with safflower seeds (the squirrels don’t seem to care for safflower seeds) which the Red-bellies really like.

Red-bellied Woodpecker (female) by J V O Weaver

Field marks for the Red-bellies are very pronounced.  One sees the ladder-back stripes on his or her back, the scarlet red head, and the buff reddish or brown underbelly, and a white tail. Sex is easily determined by looking at the birds head:  Males have the full red crown and females have a half-crown red on the nape of her neck.  Juveniles have no red on their crown, initially, but it develops as they age.



by J V O Weaver



While observing the Red-bellied Woodpecker, one can see both sexes feed the juveniles, The juvenile will follow mom or dad around and beg for food.  The parent obliges by depositing the food in the juveniles mouth.  This goes on for several weeks and soon the juvenile is foraging for his or her own food.

Male by J V O Weaver

This photo (above) is a great shot of the reddish-brown underbelly and the full red crown of the male.  He has an effective beak which he uses to roust out insects from Oak and Pine trees, and of course to hollow out nest cavities.



Male by J V O Weaver



The Red-belly’s claws are ideally suited to grasping the tree bark and allow him or her to securely grasp the trunk.  This gives him leverage to use his powerful beak to hammer away at the tree, chase insects or perch.



male by J V O Weaver



male by J V O Weaver

All text and pictures by J V O Weaver