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Red-bellied Woodpecker

Melanerpes carolinus

Photo by joanbstanley
Published on Project Noah
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31.1082, -97.4965

Field Notes

Description:

Red-bellied woodpeckers measure 9-10" in length, with a wingspan of 16". They have a light cream chest, with black and white wings. The male's crown is red, as is the nape of his neck, but the female has red on her nape only. The pinkish belly patch that gives these birds their common name is rarely visible.

Habitat:

Wooded hillside bordering Belton Lake shore.

Notes:

The red-bellied woodpecker often creates “caches” of food by drumming rows upon rows of small holes and wedging a single nut or seed into each one.
Its tongue is long and sticky with a spear-like tip - specially adapted to excavate insects from small cracks

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