Both the above bird, as well as the one on the right,
are males. You can tell that by the fact that the red
on their heads runs all the way from their bills down
the nape of their necks.
On the female in the photo below (31 MAR 2009), you’ll
notice that the red on her head is only on the nape.
The next of the “red tops” is known for its red
belly, the Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes
carolinus), seen here on 23 MAY 2009. You can see
why it got the name. But there are times when it is
not obvious at all; some birds have little or no red
on their bellies. The Red-bellies are year-round
neighbors that visit the feeders all the time, and I
always know when they are there, because they
can’t shut up about it...like chickadees, they always
announce their arrival.
On January 14, 2010, I caught this male
caching away the seeds that he was
collecting from my feeder. He made
numerous trips, so I guess that he had a
pretty good sized hole up there in the tree.
© Bob Vuxinic
© Bob Vuxinic
14 Dec 2010
© Bob Vuxinic
18 Mar 2012
© Bob Vuxinic
25 April 2012
In the Spring, this female made
repeated trips to my feeder, always
carrying away a good glob of seeded
suet into a nearby tree. If she had
nestlings up there that she was
feeding, this was an awfully early date
for Red Belly eggs to have hatched.