Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)

Photos by BarrytheBirder

Red-bellied Woodpeckers are found in lower southern Ontario and in the eastern United States.   They are noisy and fairly aggressive and frequent open deciduous woodlands, suburbs and parks.  They regularly come to feeders, particularly suet.

They are rare in Maine and the Maritimes, but their breeding range appears to be extending northward.   Northern birds move south in the winter.

'Red-bellies" have black-and-white barred backs, white upper-tail covers and barred central tail feathers.   The crowns and napes are red in males.   Females  have red nape only, with a small reddish patch or tinge on belly, usually difficult to see (notes photos above).  

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BarrytheBirder