Red-bellied Woodpecker

This image was taken from our kitchen. The woodpecker was in the Jatropha tree just outside the kitchen window.

The Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) is often confused with the much less common Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus)^info, which has a solid red head, among other differences. Although both occur throughout the eastern United States (Florida north to New York, west to Texas through the Dakotas), the Red-headed Woodpecker doesn't breed in the most southeastern three counties of the Florida peninsula. Even though the name ‘Red-headed Woodpecker’ was so well covered, the experts still take a lot of heat for naming this species after the red belly patch, which although clearly visible in this photograph, is generally pretty obscure. (If you have a better name for this woodpecker, send us a note at beehappygraphics.com/blog/contact/.) In males like this one, a red blaze goes from the back of the neck all the way up over the top of the head down to the beak. On females, the blaze ends well before it gets above the eye.

For more information about this image (including suggested names in the comment section), see our blog post: Red-bellied Woodpecker - Our Newest Image.

We have had woodpeckers visit us from time to time for a number of years. In fact, they play a supporting role in the story about our screech owl nest. For more information, check out Our Screech Owl Image - The Rest Of The Story.

rev: 3/2020

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