Bird ID Quiz #3

by Em
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Today’s Bird ID Quiz is about woodpeckers.

Over the years, many friends and family members have excitedly shared with me that they saw a Red-headed Woodpecker at their birdfeeders.

While it’s not unheard of around here, it’s rather uncommon—especially in the city.

There are several large woodpeckers that have “red heads” or red on their heads. It helps to know some of their other identifying characteristics so you can tell them apart.

Do you recognize these woodpeckers?

A graphic of mystery woodpeckers

Two of them are found mostly east of the Mississippi River in the United States. The other one is found throughout the United States and Canada.

Two of them can get as large as 9 inches. The other one is 11 to 12 inches long.

The above graphic includes:

  • a Red-bellied Woodpecker
  • a Northern Flicker
  • a Red-headed Woodpecker

Do you know which is which?

Bird #1 is the true Red-headed Woodpecker.

A photo of a Red-headed Woodpecker

These birds are a very eye-catching red, white and black. The red on the head is a beautiful blackish-red and glows in the sunshine.

While this woodpecker can be found throughout the United States, it prefers woodlands and will nest in dead or dying trees.

Last summer two Red-headed Woodpeckers spent a morning in the trees surrounding my backyard during migration season. And individual birds have visited my birdfeeders on a handful of occasions over the last couple of decades.

Bird #2 is the species most friends and family have confused with the Red-headed Woodpecker. This is the Red-bellied Woodpecker:

Two photos on a graphic for the Red-bellied Woodpecker

It makes sense that people would mix them up since the Red-bellied also has a red head!

If you look closely on the left side of the graphic, you’ll see that this bird does indeed have some red on its belly. But the red on the head is much more noticeable, so why the name? When birds were first studied and classified, they were often shot in the field and mounted in collections where they could be examined close up. The red belly may be what was noticed first. Or maybe the Red-headed Woodpecker was named first!

Decades ago this was not a common bird in southern Wisconsin and other northern United States, but this bird has been slowly increasing its range northward.

Red-bellied Woodpeckers are regular visitors to my backyard feeders. They love peanuts and suet. In the spring they will also nibble the orange halves I put out for the migrating Baltimore Orioles.

That means #3 is the Northern Flicker.

A photo of a Northern Flicker

This species is 2 to 4 inches larger than the Red-headed and Red-bellied Woodpeckers.

There are two types of Northern Flickers and you can tell the difference when you see the flight feather shafts. Like the names indicate, the “Red-shafted” have red shafts and the “Yellow-shafted” have yellow shafts. You can see that color on the underside of spread wings and under the bird’s tail.

Yellow-shafted Flickers are more common in the Eastern U.S., and Red-shafted are more common in the west.

Behavior is another way to tell this species apart from the other two. Most woodpeckers spend most of their time on branches and trunks of trees. But the Northern Flicker loves ants, so you’ll often see this species on the ground.

If you flush a woodpecker from the ground, you can bet it’s a Northern Flicker.

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