Red-bellied woodpeckers are omnivorous. They eat a wide variety of fruits, nuts, seeds, berries and tree sap, as well as arboreal arthropods and other invertebrates. These include ants, flies, grasshoppers, beetle larvae and caterpillars. Red-bellied woodpeckers also take small vertebrates, including brown and green anoles, tree frogs, small fish, nestling birds and bird eggs.
Gleaning, probing, excavating, pecking, bark scaling, and hawking are all methods used by red-bellied woodpeckers to forage for food. Once captured, small food is consumed by swallowing it whole. Large prey is thrashed against a tree and pecked at. An interesting feeding adaptation of red-bellied woodpeckers is their tongue. Their tongue is long, cylindrical, pointed, sticky, and has a spear-like tip. It is well adapted for excavating prey from cracks.
Red-bellied woodpeckers forage primarily on the trunks and limbs of trees and snags. Studies have shown that males and females forage differently. Males forage primarily on trunks, while females forage primarily on tree limbs. Females also forage higher on the trees than males.
Red-bellied woodpeckers are known to store extra food for later consumption. Food items such as nuts, acorns, corn, fruits, seeds and insects are stored deep in pre-existing cracks and crevices of trees or posts.
Animal Foods: birds; amphibians; reptiles; fish; eggs; insects; terrestrial non-insect arthropods
Plant Foods: seeds, grains, and nuts; fruit; sap or other plant fluids
Foraging Behavior: stores or caches food
Primary Diet: omnivore
Predators of adult red-bellied woodpeckers include birds of prey such as sharp-shinned hawks and Cooper's hawks, black rat snakes and house cats. Known predators of nestlings and eggs include red-headed woodpeckers, European starlings, pileated woodpeckers, gray rat snakes and black rat snakes.
When approached by a predator, red-bellied woodpeckers either hide from the predator, or harass it with alarm calls. They defend their nests and young aggressively, and may directly attack predators that come near the nest.
Known Predators:
Red-bellied woodpeckers are medium sized birds with a distinctive black-and-white patterned back and a long, chisel-shaped bill. Adults weigh about 72.5 grams (range 56 to 91 g), and are 22.9 to 26.7 cm long. They have a wingspan of 38 to 46 cm. Males are about 8-9% larger, on average, than females. Two characteristics that distinguish red-bellied woodpeckers from woodpeckers native to North America are the black and white zebra pattern on their backs, and the red belly found in a small section of the ventral region. The face and belly are a dull grayish color. Male red-bellied woodpeckers have a bright red cap that covers from the forehead to the nape of the neck. Females have red only on the napes of their necks. The legs and zygodactyl feet (two toes forward, two toes back) are dark gray, and the chisel shaped bill is black.
Juvenile red-bellied woodpeckers are similar in appearance to adults, but have a horn-colored bill and lack any red on their heads. Unlike many birds, red-bellied woodpeckers do not show seasonal variation in the coloration.
Average mass: 75.2 g.
Range length: 22.9 to 26.7 cm.
Range wingspan: 38 to 46 cm.
Sexual Dimorphism: male larger; sexes colored or patterned differently; male more colorful
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; bilateral symmetry
Average mass: 72.5 g.
The oldest known red-bellied woodpecker lived to be at least 12 years and 1 month old.
Average lifespan
Status: wild: 12.1 years.
Average lifespan
Status: wild: 145 months.
Red-bellied woodpeckers are adaptable to a variety of forested habitats. Though they are most commonly associated with mature hardwood forests, they also thrive in mixed pine-hardwood forests, mesic pine flatwoods, heavily timbered bottomlands, swampy woods, and riparian forests. They usually live below 600 m elevation, but can be found at up to 900 m in the Apalachian mountains.
Range elevation: 900 (high) m.
Habitat Regions: temperate ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: forest
Other Habitat Features: riparian
Red-bellied woodpeckers are found in the eastern half of the United States. Their range extends east from the wooded portion of the Great Plain states to the Atlantic coast and from the Gulf of Mexico to southern portions of Ontario and northern Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and New York.
Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native )
Red-bellied woodpeckers affect the populations of the animals they eat. They also provide food for their predators. They host at least two species of mites, Menacanthus precursor and Philopterus californiensis.
Red-bellied woodpeckers compete for food with blue jays and several other species of woodpeckers. They compete for nest sites with red-cockaded woodpeckers, European starlings, northern flickers, flying squirrels, red-headed woodpeckers and downy woodpeckers. Abandoned red-bellied woodpecker nest holes are used by a variety of other cavity-nesting birds and mammals.
Ecosystem Impact: creates habitat
Red-bellied woodpeckers help to control insects that are considered pest species.
Positive Impacts: controls pest population
There are no known adverse effects of red-bellied woodpeckers on humans.
Red-bellied woodpecker populations appear to have grown in recent years. Because this species can inhabit a variety of forest types and stages, it is more adaptable and less likely to be threatened or endangered than other woodpecker species. This species' success may be partially attributable to it's ability to adapt to the environment provided by spreading suburbs in many areas. There are an estimated 10,000,000 red-bellied woodpeckers across the geographic range. This species is protected under the U.S. Migratory Bird Act.
US Migratory Bird Act: protected
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
State of Michigan List: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
Red-bellied woodpeckers communicate using vocalizations, non-vocal sounds, and physical display. This is a very vocal species throughout the year, though they are most noisy during the breeding season. Red-bellied woodpeckers use six calls to communicate. They also communicate by drumming on dead trees, dead stubs and utility poles with their beaks. Drumming is used to announce ownership of a territory and in pair bond formation and maintenance.
Communication Channels: visual ; acoustic
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
Red-bellied woodpeckers are thought to be monogamous. Pairs form any time from early winter to late spring. Males attract females with a combination of tapping, "kwirr" calls, and drumming. Mutual tapping is an important part of communication between the pair and in nest-site selection, which may be an important part of establishing a pair bond. Breeding pairs do not appear to stay together for more than one season.
Mating System: monogamous
Breeding pairs begin forming any time between early winter and late spring, and nesting usually begins in March and April. The male and female select a nest site together. The process of selecting the nest site is highly ritualized in this species, and involves much mutual tapping, in which one member of the pair taps softly on the wood from inside a cavity, and the other taps back from the outside. Nests are usually excavated in dead trees or the dead limbs of live trees. Both male and female excavate the nest cavity, which has an opening approximately 5.9 x 5.7 cm. When the nest is complete, the female lays about four eggs at one-day intervals. The eggs are smooth, oval, and glossy white. Both parents incubate the eggs, which hatch after about 12 days.
"Pip"-ing sounds come from the egg two hours before hatching. The chicks are altricial at hatching; they are naked, their eyes are shut, and egg teeth can be seen on the upper and lower mandibles. About six days after hatching, their eyes begin to open and claws, rectrices, and remiges appear. Around the tenth to twelfth day feathers project from skin. Around the fifteenth day the eyes open completely and the sex can be determined. Around the twenty-first day the young have all of their feathers and the egg teeth are gone. The young vocalize throughout their development. During this time, both parents bring food to the chicks in the nest. They begin to leave the nest 24 to 27 days after hatching.
Fledglings usually stay near the nest for a few days after fledging. About two days after leaving the nest the fledglings start to follow their parents. The parents continue to help feed the young for up to 10 weeks after they fledge. Toward the end of this period, the adults drive the fledglings away. The young birds are probably able to breed the next spring. While red-bellied woodpeckers occasionally raise two broods per season, most pairs are only able to raise one brood per season.
Breeding interval: Red-bellied woodpeckers breed once per year.
Breeding season: Nesting usually begins in March or April.
Average eggs per season: 4.
Average time to hatching: 12 days.
Range fledging age: 24 to 27 days.
Range time to independence: 2 to 10 weeks.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 1 (low) years.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 1 (low) years.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; oviparous
Average time to hatching: 11 days.
Average eggs per season: 4.
Both male and female red-bellied woodpeckers invest heavily in parental care. Both sexes select the nest site and excavate the nest, as well as incubating the eggs and feeding the chicks for up to 10 weeks after they fledge.
Parental Investment: altricial ; pre-fertilization (Provisioning, Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Protecting: Male, Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Male, Female, Protecting: Male, Female); pre-independence (Provisioning: Male, Female, Protecting: Male, Female)
A medium-sized (9-10 ½ inches) woodpecker, the Red-bellied Woodpecker is most easily identified by its black-and-white striped back, pale flanks, and pale buff-brown face. Ironically, this woodpecker has very little red on its belly, being visibly red on its head alone. Male Red-bellied Woodpeckers have a red forehead, crown, and neck, whereas females only have red on the neck. This species may be distinguished from the Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus), another woodpecker with black, white, and red plumage, by that species’ entirely red head and face. The Red-bellied Woodpecker inhabits much of the eastern United States and southern Canada north to the Great Lakes and west to the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains. Generally, this species is non-migratory in most parts of its range. However, northern Red-headed Woodpeckers may move short distances south in harsh winters when temperatures and food supplies become too low. Red-headed Woodpeckers inhabit a variety of deciduous, evergreen, or mixed woodland habitats. This species may also be found in more built-up areas, and can sometimes be found in suburban backyards and large urban parks. Red-headed Woodpeckers primarily eat seeds, nuts, and insects, although this species tends to dig into bark less than most other woodpecker species, preferring to take insects from the surface. In appropriate habitat, this species may be seen climbing trees and branches head-first while foraging for food. When moving from tree to tree, this species undertakes short, undulating flights through the canopy. This species is primarily active during the day.
A medium-sized (9-10 ½ inches) woodpecker, the Red-bellied Woodpecker is most easily identified by its black-and-white striped back, pale flanks, and pale buff-brown face. Ironically, this woodpecker has very little red on its belly, being visibly red on its head alone. Male Red-bellied Woodpeckers have a red forehead, crown, and neck, whereas females only have red on the neck. This species may be distinguished from the Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus), another woodpecker with black, white, and red plumage, by that species’ entirely red head and face. The Red-bellied Woodpecker inhabits much of the eastern United States and southern Canada north to the Great Lakes and west to the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains. Generally, this species is non-migratory in most parts of its range. However, northern Red-headed Woodpeckers may move short distances south in harsh winters when temperatures and food supplies become too low. Red-headed Woodpeckers inhabit a variety of deciduous, evergreen, or mixed woodland habitats. This species may also be found in more built-up areas, and can sometimes be found in suburban backyards and large urban parks. Red-headed Woodpeckers primarily eat seeds, nuts, and insects, although this species tends to dig into bark less than most other woodpecker species, preferring to take insects from the surface. In appropriate habitat, this species may be seen climbing trees and branches head-first while foraging for food. When moving from tree to tree, this species undertakes short, undulating flights through the canopy. This species is primarily active during the day.
The red-bellied woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) is a medium-sized woodpecker of the family Picidae. It breeds mainly in the eastern United States, ranging as far south as Florida and as far north as Canada. Though it has a vivid orange-red crown and nape it is not to be confused with the red-headed woodpecker, a separate species of woodpecker in the same genus with an entirely red head and neck that sports a solid black back and white belly. The red-bellied earns its name from the pale reddish blush of its lower underside.
The English naturalist Mark Catesby described and illustrated the red-bellied woodpecker in his book The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands which was published between 1729 and 1732. Catesby used the English name "The Red-bellied Wood-pecker" and the Latin Picus ventre rubro.[2] When in 1758 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the tenth edition, he included the red-bellied woodpecker, coined the binomial name Picus carolinus and cited Catesby's book. Linnaeus specified the type locality as America septentrionali (North America).[3] The locality is now restricted to South Carolina.[4] The red-bellied woodpecker is one of 24 species now placed in the genus Melanerpes that was introduced by the English ornithologist William John Swainson in 1832.[5][6] The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.[6]
Adults are mainly light gray on the face and underparts; they have black and white barred patterns on their back, wings and tail. Adult males have a red cap going from the bill to the nape; females have a red patch on the nape and another above the bill. The reddish tinge on the belly that gives the bird its name is difficult to see in field identification. They are 22.85 to 26.7 cm (9.00 to 10.51 in) long, have a wingspan of 38 to 46 cm (15 to 18 in),[7] and weigh 2.0–3.2 oz (56–91 g).[8]
Red-bellied woodpeckers are noisy birds, and have many varied calls. Calls have been described as sounding like churr-churr-churr or thrraa-thrraa-thrraa with an alternating br-r-r-r-t sound. Males tend to call and drum more frequently than females, but both sexes call. The drum sounds like 6 taps.[9] Often, these woodpeckers "drum" to attract mates. They tap on hollow trees, and even on aluminum roofs, metal guttering and transformer boxes in urban environments, to communicate with potential partners. Babies have a high-pitched begging call of pree-pree-pree. They will continue to give a begging call whenever they see their parents for a while after fledging.
These birds mainly search out arthropods on tree trunks. They may also catch insects in flight. They are omnivores, eating insects, fruits, nuts and seeds. Their breeding habitat is usually deciduous forests. They nest in the decayed cavities of dead trees, old stumps, or in live trees that have softer wood such as elms, maples, or willows; both sexes assist in digging nesting cavities. Areas around nest sites are marked with drilling holes to warn others away.
Though the species is not globally threatened, it depends on large trees for nesting. In areas that are extensively deforested, the birds will sometimes utilize gardens, but for the most part they simply will not be present in any numbers.[10]
In early May, the red-bellied woodpeckers begin breeding activities by drumming patterns, such as slow taps followed by short rapid drumming.[11] The red-bellied woodpeckers use vocal signals to attract and communicate with potential mates.[12] A low "grr, grr" sound is observed in a pair of woodpeckers from the start of courtship until the end of the breeding season.[12] In an intraspecific conflict, red-bellied woodpeckers usually make a loud "chee-wuck, chee-wuck, chee-wuck" sound. As indicated by Kilham 1983, the red-bellied woodpecker drums with its bill during conflict situation and taps to maintain pair bonding. An example of a conflict event would be competing for the same mate. Nevertheless, red-bellied woodpeckers are known to be in monogamous relationships. They have been known to rapidly peck on aluminum gutters of houses to produce a loud noise in order to attract females.
Woodpeckers depend on dead and drying wood for nesting purposes. The male red-bellied woodpecker takes the initiative in locating a nest hole. He will then seek approval from his mate by mutual tapping.[12] The red-bellied woodpecker excavates holes in trees for nesting and roosting.[13] By excavating cavities, they play an important role in forest communities for other species as well.[14] For example, squirrels and bats use these cavities as shelter.[13] The female red-bellied woodpecker accepts the nesting site by completing the excavation and entering the nest hole.
Researchers have documented that red-bellied woodpeckers tend to nest in clear areas with only a few trees.[13] Studies have indicated that close canopy areas do not impact the bird's nesting behavior; however, further studies are needed and are in progress.[13] Red-bellied woodpeckers breed once per year and are territorial during the nesting season. A pair begins nesting in April or May holding a year-round territory and showing high site fidelity.[15]
Red-bellied woodpeckers depend on dead trees for nesting.[16] Recent studies have shown that these woodpeckers experienced low breeding due to cutting sites of dead trees; however, predators are still of main concern.[16][17] The juvenile red-bellied woodpecker is ready to fledge at 24 to 26 days of age. Natal dispersal has been observed in juvenile red-bellied woodpeckers.[15] The juvenile red-bellied woodpecker remains in its natal area for approximately 27 weeks after fledging.[15] In some cases, the woodpecker may return to its natal area for breeding, depending on predation levels and food resources.[15]
As with all animals, foraging plays an important role in an animal's ability to survive and reproduce. The red-bellied woodpecker expresses foraging behavior by catching or storing food.[18] The woodpecker uses its bill as a chisel, drilling into bark or probing cracks on trunk of trees.[18] In this manner, it is able to pull out beetles and other insects from the tree with the help of its long tongue.[18] This behavior is also seen in storing food from other animals by hiding food behind bark or deep in cracks of a tree.[18] According to studies from Williams (1975),[19] Breitwisch (1977),[20] and Williams and Batzil (1979),[21] the red-bellied woodpecker spent 20% to 69% of its time foraging on dead or decaying trees.[22]: 351 In addition, Breitwisch (1977)[20] observed red-bellied woodpeckers primarily gleaning and probing to find food in South Florida pine habitat.[22]: 351 [23]: 5 The red-bellied woodpecker relies on snags or dying trees for foraging and nesting.[14] It is a major predator of the invasive emerald ash borer in the U.S. Midwest, removing up to 85 percent of borer larvae in a single infested ash tree.[24] The red-bellied woodpecker has also been observed, on occasion, foraging on the ground amongst groups of Northern Flicker woodpeckers.
Predators of adult red-bellied woodpeckers include birds of prey such as sharp-shinned hawks and Cooper's hawks, black rat snake, and house cats. Known predators of nestlings and eggs include red-headed woodpeckers, owls, pileated woodpeckers, eastern gray squirrels, fox squirrels, gray rat snakes, and black rat snakes. When approached by a predator, red-bellied woodpeckers either hide from it or harass it with alarm calls. They defend their nests and young aggressively, and may directly attack predators that come near the nest.
The red-bellied woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) is a medium-sized woodpecker of the family Picidae. It breeds mainly in the eastern United States, ranging as far south as Florida and as far north as Canada. Though it has a vivid orange-red crown and nape it is not to be confused with the red-headed woodpecker, a separate species of woodpecker in the same genus with an entirely red head and neck that sports a solid black back and white belly. The red-bellied earns its name from the pale reddish blush of its lower underside.
