

Red-bellied woodpeckers are solitary outside of the breeding season and while raising offspring. Red-Bellied Woodpeckers Are Seasonally Monogamous However, if it is too large, they will trash it against a tree to kill it and then pick it apart into smaller, consumable pieces.ĥ. Red-bellied woodpeckers eat small prey whole. They cache food in the cracks of trees and even fence posts when food supplies are low. These include arthropods, invertebrates, eggs, frogs, fish, and nestlings. Red-bellied woodpeckers also eat a variety of other foods. These birds also search for insects on tree trunks and catch others on the wing in mid-air.
RED BELLIED WOODPECKER CRACK
They feast on berries, and tree sap, and use bark crevices to help them crack open acorns and other nuts. They will drink nectar from hummingbird feeders using their long tongues. They eat suet from bird feeders, peanuts, and sunflower seeds. See also 17 Incredible White Birds of Prey (ID Guide with Pictures) Red-bellied woodpeckers are omnivores, eating a variety of foods, and using their bill to forage, glean, probe, drill, and catch (hawking). Females will also climb higher on the trees than males. Males are found foraging more on tree trunks, whereas females are more often seen on tree limbs. As a result, males can access food deeper within the cracks. Male red-bellied woodpeckers have longer and wider-tipped tongues than their female counterparts. Males & Females Forage In Different Spots On Trees This makes it easier for the woodpecker to catch prey within the folds and cracks of tree bark and other crevices.ģ. The tongue’s tip is barbed and covered with sticky spit. Red-Bellied Woodpeckers Have A Long TongueĪ red-bellied woodpecker’s tongue can reach out about two inches past the tip of its beak. The patterning may be less distinctive and their crowns without red.Ģ. Juvenile red-bellied woodpeckers look like a duller version of adults. Both genders have thick, black, straight bills, dark gray legs, and gray feet.
RED BELLIED WOODPECKER PATCH
Females have a red patch above the bill and a separate one on the nape.

The patterning looks much like zebra stripes.Ī male’s bright red cap extends from the bill and over the head to the nape. The male of this species has a bright red, capped head, which makes it easily mistaken for the red-headed woodpecker (a different species: Melanerpes erythrocephalus ).Īdult red-bellied woodpeckers are primarily light gray on the face and underparts, with a black and white barred pattern on the wings, tail, and back.
