Female Red-bellied Woodpecker

The sighting of a red-bellied woodpecker is not rare in southern Canada or the northeastern United States of America, which happen to be the natural habitat of this species. Going by its appearance, the name may seem inappropriate as the red plumage resembling a cap on its head is a lot brighter than the same on its belly. However, the name red-headed woodpecker is assigned to another species - the Melanerpes erythrocephalus (a close relative of the red-bellied species), as it has bright red plumage covering its entire head.

Red-bellied Woodpecker

The red-bellied woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) is a medium-sized woodpecker species predominantly found in North America. There is not much of difference between the male and female red-bellied species in terms of size, with both attaining a length of around 9-10.5 inches and a wingspan of 15-18 inches when full-grown. Being omnivorous in nature, it feeds on insects, fruits, nuts and seeds. In most of the cases, they rely on arthropods on tree trunks, but they do have the ability of catching insects in flight. These birds tend to communicate with each other by drumming or tapping, not just on trees trunks, but also on aluminum roofs and transformer boxes in urban settings. This habit of drumming (tapping) is much more prominent in males as compared to female red-bellied species.

Female Red-bellied Woodpecker Description

Measuring approximately 9-10.5 inches, the female in this species looks a lot like the male, with the only thing distinguishing the two being the gray crown that the female sports. It has a black tail with striped black and white innermost and outermost feathers. The same pattern of black and white stripes is seen on its back. It has a prominent red nape, while the area surrounding the base of its bill is light reddish in color. The red belly which is a characteristic trait of this species is concealed by gray plumage on its underside, and you may not even see it when the bird is in flight unless you are a veteran of bird watching.

Behavior: Mating and Nesting

After mating, the male and female red-bellied woodpeckers build a nest on a dead or dying tree at the height of around five to seventy feet from the ground. The nest is basically a foot long cavity which is lined up with wooden chips. The female lays around 3-8 eggs in the nest, and both the male and female take turns in guarding the nest. When the eggs hatch - around two weeks later, the parents again divide the tasks of guarding and getting food for the young ones between them. In this manner, the female plays an equally important role in raising a family with its male counterpart.

The predators of this woodpecker species include birds like Cooper's hawks in the air and black rat snakes and house cats on trees. Though small, these species, especially the female woodpeckers, defend their nests in an aggressive manner without hesitating to take on predators which are relatively bigger in size. As far as their population is concerned, the red-bellied species is enlisted as 'Least Concerned' species by the 'International Union for Conservation of Nature' (IUCN). Restricted to northeast United States at one point of time, the species has extended their territory further north to Canada of late, owing to their highly adaptive nature.