Breeding Range Map

Description: The beautiful Red-headed Woodpecker is unmistakable. Measuring about nine inches in length, it has a vivid red head, black back and wings, white underparts, large white wing patches, and black tail. Females and males are similar. The immature Red-headed Woodpecker is brown with white underparts.

Diet: The Red-headed Woodpecker is the most omnivorous of woodpeckers. It is one of only several species of woodpeckers to cache (store) food in cavities or beneath bark. Its diet includes insects, seeds, acorns, nuts, and occasionally bird eggs and mice.

Range: The Red-headed Woodpecker breeds throughout the eastern United States and the Great Plains. It is a very local breeder. Highest densities occur in the deep south and great plains.

Habitat: The Red-headed Woodpecker occurs in scattered woodlands, grasslands, golf courses, wooded marshes, orchards, and wooded parks. It requires areas of dead trees and stumps for nesting and feeding.

Status: While the Red-headed Woodpecker remains common in western parts of its range, it has declined dramatically in the northeast and mid-Atlantic regions due to habitat loss and competition for nesting cavities with the Starling.

Video of Red-headed Woodpecker