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Red-bellied woodpecker (juvenile)

Melanerpes carolinus

Photo by KarenL
Published on Project Noah
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35.8987, -86.9624

Field Notes

Description:

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 headside 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 9 to 10.5 inches long, and have a wingspan of 15 to 18 inches.

Notes:

This youngster has yet to develop the characteristic red cap of the adult red-bellied woodpecker.

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (3)

Super cool! Haven't seen too many Red-Bellies since they deforested the area to add a road extension. :(
I love to watch them! It's too hot to hang suet here at the moment so I spread coarse peanut butter into the bark on my hackberry tree - the woodpeckers & the nuthatches love it!

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