Red-headed Woodpecker
“We have a Red-headed Woodpecker coming to our feeders.” (Top) The speaker was a long-time friend who, like so many other new birders, has discovered the joy of the sport because of being housebound throughout the Covid pandemic. I know from many past instances that new birders and non-birders alike often believe that Red-bellied Woodpeckers are Red-headed Woodpeckers because they have a considerable amount of red on their heads (Photo 2, a female Red-bellied displaying the small patch of red on the belly that gives the species its name).
Consequently, when a new birder or non-birder claims they saw a Red-headed Woodpecker, I ask the question “What color was the back of the bird?” If they say it was black and white, I congratulate them for they have indeed seen a Red-headed Woodpecker, as was the case with my friend (Photo 3 on their favorite food, unsalted shelled peanuts) If they answer that the back of the bird was striped, then I correct them and explain the differences between the two species (Photo 4, another female Red-bellied). Of course there are other differences as well: Red-headed have silver bills with a black tip, while Red-bellied have an all-black bill.
Even more obvious is the all-red head of the Red-headed Woodpecker compared to the brown cheeks and side of the face of Red-bellied Woodpeckers. While both male and female Red-headed look alike, Red-bellied males and females differ in that in females the red only extends half-way up to the top of the head while the forehead of the female is then light brown. In male Red-bellied the red extends all the way across the top of the head right down to the bill (Photo 5).
When a Red-headed Woodpecker takes flight it displays the pristine white of its underside. Red-bellied Woodpeckers have a light-colored underside, but it appears rather dingy by comparison (Photo 6). Juvenile Red-bellied do not have any red on their heads whatsoever (Photo 7). Regrettably I do not have a photo of a juvenile Red-headed Woodpecker, which would show an all-brown head that will subsequently become all red, to share with you.
Red-bellied Woodpeckers are more common in both our Florida and Pennsylvania home areas. This was not always the case. When I first began birding back in the 1940s there were no Red-bellied Woodpeckers anywhere in Pennsylvania. I remember my excitement when we found our first, then exceedingly rare, Red-bellied Woodpecker during a Christmas Bird Count sometime in the late 1950s. Since that time, they have proliferated to the point where they are now among the most common birds coming year-round to our Pennsylvania feeders. In Florida they have been quite common for as long as I can remember.
Conversely, Red-headed Woodpeckers are still an uncommon bird to find in either Florida or Pennsylvania which accounts for the excitement among birders when a nesting location for a pair is found. Fortunately for St Lucie Audubon, Red-headed Woodpeckers are found just about every year on the Joe Overstreet Road field trip. The Red-headed Woodpecker depicted at our peanut feeder in photo 3 remained at our Pennsylvania property for about a month in June 2013 during which time it would sing its heart out all day apparently trying to attract a mate. We never saw a second bird and assume that it moved on to greener pastures.
While it’s understandable that an inexperienced non-birder might think a Red-bellied Woodpecker is a Red-headed, once novice birders begin to become more familiar with the birds in their home area, they quickly learn the difference between these two species. As new birders become more involved in birding, after learning all the shorebirds and peeps, all the different warblers, both spring and fall plumages, all the herons and egrets, they can then move on to the “look-alike” birds such as Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Cooper’s and Sharp-shinned Hawks, or among the ducks, Greater and Lesser Scaup.
And when they become even more accomplished, they can tackle difficult bird species that are almost indistinguishable such as the Empidonax Flycatchers, particularly the Willow and Alder Flycatchers, species which even the most accomplished ornithologists have difficulty identifying if they are not singing.
Yes, birding can become as intense a sport as the birder wants to make it, and in any event, casual or intense, it is always a great deal of fun. Interestingly though, while we may have difficulty distinguishing some of these different species, the birds themselves don’t seem to have any problems whatsoever. I suppose among the birds it’s like the way we humans don’t have any problems identifying one another, even with individuals who strongly resemble each other. But I don’t want to get into the similarities between bird interactions and human interactions. That would take a whole book.
