Red-headed Woodpecker

Melanerpes erythrocephalus

Solid crimson head, crisp black-and-white body. The most graphic-designed bird in North America.

Population: ~1.8 million mature individuals (Partners in Flight estimate, independently confirmed via direct Audubon field-guide fetch, which also notes the long-term downward trend continues)
Habitat: Open woodlands and edges rather than dense forest: scattered groves, farm country, orchards, shade trees in towns, pine savannas, dead timber in swamps, and utility poles/dead trees used for nest cavities
Fun fact: The Red-headed Woodpecker is the only North American woodpecker with an entirely crimson-red head and neck, and it is a prolific hoarder — wedging acorns, insects, and other food into bark crevices, fence posts, and even under roof shingles, sometimes capping the stash with wood or bark.
Range: Temperate North America: breeds from southern Canada across the eastern and east-central United States down to the Gulf Coast and Florida; a short-distance migrant, with northern populations wintering in southeastern states while southern populations are year-round residents
Diet: Omnivorous and highly varied — flying insects caught in mid-air, spiders, earthworms, acorns, beechnuts, seeds, corn, pecans, and fruit (apples, pears, cherries, berries, grapes, mulberries); occasionally eats small rodents and the eggs/nestlings of other birds; caches nuts and insects in bark crevices for winter. Audubon notes roughly two-thirds of the diet is plant matter.
Size: 0.22 m
Wingspan: 0.425 m
Lifespan: 9.9 years

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