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The Red-headed woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) is a gorgeous medium-sized woodpecker from North America. These birds are chiefly known for their characteristic behavior. They mostly forage on the trunks and branches of trees and often communicate by drumming with their beaks, producing a reverberatory sound that can be heard at some distance.
Red-headed woodpeckers are strikingly tri-colored, with a black back and tail and a red head and neck. Their underparts are mainly white. The wings are black with white secondary remiges. Adult males and females are identical in plumage. Juveniles have similar markings, but their heads are grey. Red-headed woodpeckers are entirely crimson above their shoulders.
Red-headed woodpeckers breed across southern Canada and the eastern-central United States. Northern birds migrate to the southern parts of the range, while southern populations are often permanent residents. Red-headed woodpeckers live in the open country including forest edges, open pine woodlands, pine savannas, woodlands with oak or beech, grasslands with scattered trees, groves, parks, and farmland.
Red-headed woodpeckers are solitary outside of the breeding season. They are active during the day and spend most of their time foraging. These birds fly to catch insects in the air or on the ground and forage on trees. They also gather and store grasshoppers, nuts, berries, and acorns for later consumption during the colder months. Red-headed woodpeckers migrate in large flocks, usually by day. Most birds usually arrive in their breeding range by late April and leave for winter quarters by late October. Red-headed woodpeckers are noisy and on their territory, they give a loud 'tchur-tchur' call or drum; when alarmed at the nest they will make 'krit-tar-rah' or 'quarr-quarr-quarr' calls.
Red-headed woodpeckers are omnivorous birds. They eat insects, seeds, fruits, berries, nuts, and occasionally small rodents and even the eggs of other birds.
Red-headed woodpeckers are monogamous and form pairs though some males may be polygynous and mate with more than one female. These birds breed from April to July and can produce two broods in a single nesting season. Pairs nest in a cavity in a dead tree, utility pole, or dead part of a tree that is between 2.5-24.5 m (8-80.4 ft) above the ground. They lay 4 to 7 eggs in early May which are incubated for two weeks. The chicks hatch altricial. They are helpless and fed by both parents. The young fledge at 27-30 days of age and become reproductively mature when they are one year old.
The Red-headed woodpecker was historically a common species in southern Canada and the east-central United States. Consistent long-term population declines have resulted in its threatened status in Canada and several states in the US. Throughout most of their range, these birds inhabit areas that have been heavily altered by humans. Factors suggested for their declines include loss of overall habitat and, within habitats, standing dead wood required for nest sites, limitations of food supply, and possible nest-site competition with other cavity nesters such as European starlings or Red-bellied woodpeckers. At present, Red-headed woodpeckers suffer from habitat loss and degradation as well as from collisions with auto transport and shortage in food sources.
According to the All About Birds resource the total breeding population size of the Red-headed woodpecker is around 1.2 million birds. Currently, this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List but its numbers today are decreasing.
Red-headed woodpeckers play an important role in the ecosystem they live in. These birds control the insect populations they eat and may help to disperse seeds of various plants that they both eat and cache. Red-headed woodpeckers also play an important role in providing shelters for other cavity-nesting birds and mammals that are not able to excavate their tree holes.
