Red Bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)
The red-bellied woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) 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.
The red-bellied earns its name from the pale reddish blush of its lower underside. A Red-bellied Woodpecker can stick out its tongue nearly 2 inches past the end of its beak. The tip is barbed and the bird’s spit is sticky, making it easier to snatch prey from deep crevices. Males have longer, wider-tipped tongues than females, possibly allowing a breeding pair to forage in slightly different places on their territory and maximize their use of available food.
Red-bellied Woodpeckers pair off in late winter and early spring. They are seasonally monogamous, meaning that pairs remain together for one nesting season. The male initiates courtship by drumming to attract the female's attention. If she joins him, they engage in a mutual tapping display before settling down to excavate a nest cavity,
The female lays three to eight white eggs in the nest cavity, which both parents incubate in turns, with the female on the day shift and the male taking over at night. Both parents also feed the young once they hatch. In northern parts of their range, Red-bellied Woodpeckers usually raise a single clutch per season, but in the South, they may raise two or even three clutches per year.
Predators of adult red-bellied woodpeckers include birds of prey such as sharp-shinned hawks and Cooper's hawks, black rat snake and house cats. Known predators of nestlings and eggs include red-headed woodpeckers, owls, pileated woodpeckers, eastern gray squirrels, fox squirrels, gray rat snakes and black rat snakes. When approached by a predator, red-bellied woodpeckers either hide from the predator, or harass it with alarm calls. They defend their nests and young aggressively, and may directly attack predators that come near the nest.
(Wicki, All about birds, American Bird Conservancy)
Nikon D7100
Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED AF-S VR
98mm - f4.5 - 1/500 - ISO 125
Red Bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)
The red-bellied woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) 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.
The red-bellied earns its name from the pale reddish blush of its lower underside. A Red-bellied Woodpecker can stick out its tongue nearly 2 inches past the end of its beak. The tip is barbed and the bird’s spit is sticky, making it easier to snatch prey from deep crevices. Males have longer, wider-tipped tongues than females, possibly allowing a breeding pair to forage in slightly different places on their territory and maximize their use of available food.
Red-bellied Woodpeckers pair off in late winter and early spring. They are seasonally monogamous, meaning that pairs remain together for one nesting season. The male initiates courtship by drumming to attract the female's attention. If she joins him, they engage in a mutual tapping display before settling down to excavate a nest cavity,
The female lays three to eight white eggs in the nest cavity, which both parents incubate in turns, with the female on the day shift and the male taking over at night. Both parents also feed the young once they hatch. In northern parts of their range, Red-bellied Woodpeckers usually raise a single clutch per season, but in the South, they may raise two or even three clutches per year.
Predators of adult red-bellied woodpeckers include birds of prey such as sharp-shinned hawks and Cooper's hawks, black rat snake and house cats. Known predators of nestlings and eggs include red-headed woodpeckers, owls, pileated woodpeckers, eastern gray squirrels, fox squirrels, gray rat snakes and black rat snakes. When approached by a predator, red-bellied woodpeckers either hide from the predator, or harass it with alarm calls. They defend their nests and young aggressively, and may directly attack predators that come near the nest.
(Wicki, All about birds, American Bird Conservancy)
Nikon D7100
Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED AF-S VR
98mm - f4.5 - 1/500 - ISO 125