Appearance: Red-headed woodpeckers are medium-sized birds about 9″ long with a red head, black back, white rump, chest, and belly. Also has white patches on its wings, black tail, and gray legs and bill. The female is the same as the male.
Diet: Insects, fruit, nuts, and seeds.
Feeder food: Suet and hulled peanuts.
Habitat: During the breeding season, they prefer open woodlands especially when ample deciduous trees are present, as well as short-grass meadows, pastures, or even golf courses. In the winter they can be found in tall grass prairies with plenty of oak trees and anywhere a mass of acorn crops are present.
Nesting: Red-headed woodpeckers are cavity nesters and will choose a tree hole or manmade nesting box. They have 1 brood/year, 4-5 white eggs/brood, and incubate for 12-13 days.
Migration: Some, but not all, red-headed woodpeckers are migrators. In spring they’ll remain in their year-round range for breeding or head west and north into Canada to reproduce. In fall, especially when the supply of acorns wains, they’ll migrate south back to their year-round range and if crops are really poor, southwest into Texas.
Year-round range: From Oklahoma and eastern Kansas east to Pennsylvania and Maryland, and south throughout the southeast United States.
Breeding range: Some red-headed woodpeckers breed in the year-round range (see above) while others head west and north – as far north as southern portions of Saskatchewan and Manitoba, Canada, and as far west as central Montana. Few reach the southeastern portion of Quebec.
Winter range: Most red-headed woodpeckers winter in their year-round range while a few heads further southwest into central Texas and southern Louisiana. The winter movement is highly dependent on acorn supplies. When in abundance, red-headed woodpeckers may not migrate from their year-round range at all.
Range Map
