100 More species #68: Red-bellied woodpecker

[urbpan]

Red-bellied woodpecker Melanerpes carolinus

When cottonmanifesto hung up the suet cage I figured we'd get house sparrows, maybe some chickadees or titmice--perhaps even a downy woodpecker. I was quite surprised when I heard the complaints of a red-bellied woodpecker objecting to my proximity. (And even more surprised that I snapped a photo before he left in a huff). At first, since this species is so much bigger than most of our feeder birds we mis-identified it as a northern flicker. The red-belly is a bit smaller than the flicker, and has distinctive markings. You will notice that the distinctive markings do not include a prominently red belly. Alas, we have to file this species along with the screech owl in our poorly named birds file.

Red-bellied woodpeckers are more common in the southeastern states, but have been moving northward to take advantage of human-provided food sources over the past couple centuries. They require large dead trees in which they can excavate nest holes. Some of these were recently cut down in our neighborhood; I hope enough habitat remains to sustain a population of these attractive animals.