Red-Bellied Woodpecker (Male) on a Tree Trunk Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, Florida
Best viewed in Original Size
Whenever Jan Nagalski and Felicia make it down to Florida, my wife and I join them in our obligatory visit to the Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. Some years ago the birding at the sanctuary was impressive, but in the last few years it has been less than exciting.
The Red-Bellied Woodpecker is a medium-sized woodpecker of the family Picidae. It breeds mainly in the eastern United States, ranging as far south as Florida and as far north as Canada. Its common name is somewhat misleading, as the most prominent red part of its plumage is on the head; the red-headed woodpecker, however, is another species that is a rather close relative but looks quite different. It was first described in Linnaeus' Systema Naturae, as Picus Carolinus. The type locality is given simply as America Septentrionalis. 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 cap 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 9.00 to 10.5 inches (22.85 to 26.7 cm) long, and have a wingspan of 15 to 18 inches (38 to 46 cm).
Info above was extracted from Wikipedia.
Red-Bellied Woodpecker (Male) on a Tree Trunk Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, Florida
Best viewed in Original Size
Whenever Jan Nagalski and Felicia make it down to Florida, my wife and I join them in our obligatory visit to the Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. Some years ago the birding at the sanctuary was impressive, but in the last few years it has been less than exciting.
The Red-Bellied Woodpecker is a medium-sized woodpecker of the family Picidae. It breeds mainly in the eastern United States, ranging as far south as Florida and as far north as Canada. Its common name is somewhat misleading, as the most prominent red part of its plumage is on the head; the red-headed woodpecker, however, is another species that is a rather close relative but looks quite different. It was first described in Linnaeus' Systema Naturae, as Picus Carolinus. The type locality is given simply as America Septentrionalis. 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 cap 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 9.00 to 10.5 inches (22.85 to 26.7 cm) long, and have a wingspan of 15 to 18 inches (38 to 46 cm).
Info above was extracted from Wikipedia.