The Red-Headed Woodpecker

Common Name: Red-Headed Woodpecker

Scientific Name: Melanerpes erythrocephalus

Habitat: Breeds in deciduous woodlands, especially beech or oak, river bottoms, open woods, groves of dead and dying trees, orchards, parks, open country with scattered trees, forest edges, and open wooded swamps with dead trees and stumps. Attracted to burns and recent clearings.

Range: The Red-Headed Woodpecker lives in the Eastern United States.

Interesting Fact: The Red-headed Woodpecker is one of only four woodpeckers known to store food, and it is the only one known to cover the stored food with wood or bark. It hides insects and seeds in cracks in wood, under bark, in fence posts, and under roof shingles. Grasshoppers are regularly stored alive, but wedged into crevices so tightly that they cannot escape.

Source: Cornell, University (2009). Red-Headed Woodpecker. Retrieved April 17, 2009, from All About Birds Web site: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-Headed_Woodpecker/id

picture retrieved from: http://www.birdsasart.com/Red-Headed-Woodpecker-looking-away-Rondeau-ONT-_H2D0613.jpg