A True Red Head

Featured: ABC-B is for birds 4/28/2015

Adults are strikingly tri-colored, with a black back and tail and a red head and neck. Their underparts... more

by Lisa Wooten

Title

A True Red Head

Artist

Lisa Wooten

Medium

Photograph

Description

Featured: ABC-B is for birds 4/28/2015

Adults are strikingly tri-colored, with a black back and tail and a red head and neck. Their underparts are mainly white. The wings are black with white secondary remiges. Adult males and females are identical in plumage.[4] Juveniles have very similar markings, but have an all grey head.[4] Non-birders may often mistakenly identify red-bellied woodpeckers as red-headeds, whose range overlaps somewhat with that of the red-headed woodpecker. While red-bellied woodpeckers have some bright red on the backs of their necks and heads, red-headed woodpeckers have a much deeper red that covers their entire heads and necks, as well as a dramatically different overall plumage pattern.

These are mid-sized woodpeckers. Both sexes measure from 19 to 25 cm (7.5 to 9.8 in) in length, with a wingspan of 42.5 cm (16.7 in).[5][6] They weigh from 56 to 97 g (2.0 to 3.4 oz) with an average of 76 g (2.7 oz).[7] Each wing measures 12.7�15 cm (5.0�5.9 in), the tail measures 6.6�8.5 cm (2.6�3.3 in), the bill measures 2.1�3 cm (0.83�1.18 in) and the tarsus measures 1.9�2.5 cm (0.75�0.98 in).[8] The maximum longevity in the wild is 9.9 years.[7]

They give a tchur-tchur call or drum on territory.Wikipedia

Uploaded

April 20th, 2015