Family: Picidae, Woodpeckers view all from this family

Description 10" (25 cm). Whole head red, wings and tail bluish black, with large white patch on each wing; white underparts; white rump, conspicuous in flight. Immature resembles adult, but has brown head, 2 dark bars on white wing patch.

Habitat Open country, farms, rural roads, open park-like woodlands, and golf courses.

Nesting 5 white eggs placed without nest lining in a cavity in a tree, telephone pole, or fence post.

Range Breeds from Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Quebec south to Florida and Gulf Coast. Scarce in northeastern states. Winters in southern part of breeding range.

Voice   A loud churr-churr and yarrow-yarrow-yarrow.

Discussion These woodpeckers are fond of open agricultural country with groves of dead and dying trees, particularly orchards. They often fly-catch, swooping low across a highway or along the shoulder of a road after flying insects. They store nuts and acorns, hiding them in holes and crevices. Red-headed Woodpeckers frequently are driven off by aggressive European Starlings, which occupy their nest holes, and by the removal of dead trees.