Red-Bellied Woodpecker
Melanerpes carolinus
Also known as: Zebra Woodpecker
About This Species
This mid-sized woodpecker with a barred black-and-white back and a red-capped head favours mature woodland, parks, and leafy suburbs across the eastern and central United States, where it forages by working up tree trunks and larger branches. Its rolling churr call and steady drumming carry well through the canopy, and it readily visits suet feeders and nut trays, making it one of the easier woodpeckers to observe at close range in a garden setting. It is active year-round and does not migrate, so it can be found in the same territory across the seasons.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- It tolerates a moderate viewing distance well, particularly at a feeder, but avoid approaching or tapping on a nest cavity in a dead or dying tree, since this can cause adults to desert eggs or nestlings during the breeding season.
- Nest cavities take considerable effort to excavate and are often reused, so leaving dead limbs and snags standing where safe to do so benefits the species over time.
- As with other native woodpeckers, active nests are protected under federal migratory bird law in the United States, so disturbing one is not just harmful but unlawful.
Seasonal Activity
14,956,299 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Piciformes
- Family
- Picidae
Photo
(c) Jen Goellnitz, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
CC-BY-NC-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.