Red-bellied Woodpecker
Melanerpes carolinus
Melanerpes carolinus 4
A medium-sized (9-10 ½ inches) woodpecker, the Red-bellied Woodpecker is most easily identified by its black-and-white striped back, pale flanks, and pale buff-brown face. Ironically, this woodpecker has very little red on its belly, being visibly red on its head alone. Male Red-bellied Woodpeckers have a red forehead, crown, and neck, whereas females only have red on the neck. This species may be distinguished from the Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus), another woodpecker with black, white, and red plumage, by that species’ entirely red head and face. The Red-bellied Woodpecker inhabits much of the eastern United States and southern Canada north to the Great Lakes and west to the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains. Generally, this species is non-migratory in most parts of its range. However, northern Red-headed Woodpeckers may move short distances south in harsh winters when temperatures and food supplies become too low. Red-headed Woodpeckers inhabit a variety of deciduous, evergreen, or mixed woodland habitats. This species may also be found in more built-up areas, and can sometimes be found in suburban backyards and large urban parks. Red-headed Woodpeckers primarily eat seeds, nuts, and insects, although this species tends to dig into bark less than most other woodpecker species, preferring to take insects from the surface. In appropriate habitat, this species may be seen climbing trees and branches head-first while foraging for food. When moving from tree to tree, this species undertakes short, undulating flights through the canopy. This species is primarily active during the day.
Conservation status 5
Red-bellied woodpecker populations appear to have grown in recent years. Because this species can inhabit a variety of forest types and stages, it is more adaptable and less likely to be threatened or endangered than other woodpecker species. This species' success may be partially attributable to it's ability to adapt to the environment provided by spreading suburbs in many areas. There are an estimated 10,000,000 red-bellied woodpeckers across the geographic range. This species is protected under the U.S. Migratory Bird Act.
US Migratory Bird Act: protected
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
State of Michigan List: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
Habitat 6
Red-bellied woodpeckers live in forests. They prefer old forests with large hardwood trees, but they can also live in mixed pine-hardwood forests, mesic pine flatwoods, bottomlands where there are lots of trees, swampy woods, and riparian forests. They usually live below 600 m elevation, but can be found at up to 900 m in the Apalachian mountains.
Range elevation: 900 (high) m.
Habitat Regions: temperate ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: forest
Other Habitat Features: riparian
Sources and Credits
- (c) Dawn Vornholt, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), https://www.flickr.com/photos/23399288@N07/4613787980/
- (c) Tim Hite, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Tim Hite
- Ken Thomas, no known copyright restrictions (public domain), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/Red-bellied_Woodpecker-27527-3.jpg/460px-Red-bellied_Woodpecker-27527-3.jpg
- Adapted by Natalie LaScala from a work by (c) Smithsonian Institution, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/34818253
- (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31405378
- (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/25065561
