Redheaded Woodpecker

Woodpeckers are often heard before seen, either by call or by drumming. Drumming is used to attract a mate or declare a territory and is loudly communicated over a long distance. A hollow branch or trunk provides a good acoustic medium for drumming; however, stove pipes and rain gutters have also been used. I’ve even read of a Red-headed Woodpecker drumming on a doorbell.

Drumming coincides with the breeding season. Males first set up their territories by drumming, then turn to find a mate. Going around in circles on the tree trunk in an avian game of hide and seek, the male and female chase each other.

The Red-head lays its eggs in a tree cavity. Excavating a cavity takes about two weeks, and once done, is just the right size and shape to fit the adult Red-head—anything larger would be dangerous and could allow predators inside. Some pairs have two cavities; one for breeding and one for roosting in the fall.

Woodpecker eggs are all white, presumably because there is no reason for camouflage inside a cavity. The locations of cavity openings are climate-related. In warm climates such as Louisiana’s, the opening usually faces north to prevent the eggs and nestling from getting too hot. It is just the opposite in colder regions.

Once common in Louisiana and the east, Red-headed Woodpecker numbers have dwindled in the last thirty years. This decline is attributed to the increase of European Starlings and the removal of dead trees and limbs. Starlings do not excavate cavities, opting instead to aggressively chase off a Red-head from its nesting site. The Red-head then proceeds to excavate a second cavity at a new location, which will also be taken over by Starlings. Eventually the Red-head tires and doesn’t nest at all.

Description: Medium-size woodpecker with rounded head, short tail and long, pointed bill; head and neck are crimson; snow white breast with jet black/snow white wings. Males and females look the same.

When: Permanent residents in Louisiana; somewhat nomadic in their local habitat. Red-headed Woodpeckers favor open country like forest clearings, forest edges, and clearings around large scattered trees. I’ve even seen them on telephone poles.

Breeding: Red-heads breed during spring with four to five eggs per brood. The male’s winter territory can also become his breeding territory.

Feeding: Red-headed Woodpeckers eat insects, seeds and fruit, and even bark. They forage for insects on the ground, in trees, or even catch them in mid-air.

Interesting facts: The Red headed Woodpecker benefited from the Dutch Elm disease and Chestnut blight of the twentieth century. While many trees were killed by these diseases, the dead trunks made for great nesting sites.

For comments or questions, Harriett can be reached at harriett.pooler@gmail.com.