Red-Bellied Woodpecker

Dec 16, 2010

By Lorraine Julien

The first thing to note is that this woodpecker does not have a red belly! Very confusing for a novice bird-watcher! The male has a red forehead, crown and nape, while the female only has a red nape – both have pale under parts and striking, black and white, barred backs and wings. It’s a medium-sized woodpecker at 8-10 inches long. The Red-belly could be mistaken for a Red-headed woodpecker but, although it is a close relative, it looks quite different.

Red-bellies have a long, chisel-like beak with an unbelievably long barbed tongue. The cylindrical tongue can shoot out to more than twice the length of the bird’s head. The barbed tongue acts like a bottle brush with bristles at the end which can latch onto larvae, insects, etc. that are buried deep within a tree trunk. The tip of this astonishing tongue is hard and pointed for spearing insects such as grasshoppers and beetles. The tip is also sticky with a glue-like saliva for lapping up ants.

Insects are not their main choice of food, however, as the Red-belly is one of the few members of the woodpecker family that eats more vegetable matter than insects. Favourite foods include berries and other fruits, corn and acorns which are stored for the winter. In Florida, where it likes to winter, the Red-belly’s love for oranges is not welcome news to Florida citrus growers. In fairness though, it does help to control pesky orange grove insects.

The Red-belly has a fairly distinctive call – a soft, rolling, slightly quivering krrurrr call. They also make the usual noisy woodpecker sounds. In fact, pairs begin courting by drumming side by side. The male continues drumming inside the nest hole after excavating it (just imagine the noise!). The female taps back from outside the cavity.

With all the banging on wood and metal (roof vents are a favourite noisemaker), I often wonder how woodpeckers don’t get headaches. In fact, they are extremely well designed for their work: to prevent brain damage from all the pounding, a strong neck, a thick skull and a cushioning space between the heavy outer membrane and the brain itself act as special protection. To screen its lungs from all the wood dust it produces, its nostrils are conveniently covered by a small mask of fine, bristly feathers.

This attractive woodpecker has been fairly abundant throughout the eastern half of the U.S. but has expanded its range both northward into Canada and westward just in the last decade or two. I haven’t seen a Red-belly where I live in North Frontenac but Gemma Emsley, who lives in the Barrie section of North Frontenac, reports having Red-belly visitors just recently. In January 2010, Ron Hipfner and Linda Hughes of Little Long Lake Road, north of Sydenham emailed that they’d had a pair of Red-bellies at their feeder.

As its range seems to be continuing northward, we should all keep a lookout at our feeders for this colourful bird. Woodpeckers, in general, are entertaining garden visitors. In many forest habitats, they create cavities in wood that other wildlife uses. Woodpeckers are also voracious insect eaters, seeking out bark-boring, wood-boring and other beetles, as well as ants, tent caterpillars and other destructive insects.

According to the Canadian Wildlife Federation, Canada has 14 species of woodpeckers, including the Northern Flicker (one of my favourites) and four Sapsucker species. Of these, a number are listed at-risk. Since most woodpeckers depend on standing dead trees or the dead parts of living trees for nesting and foraging for food, their numbers diminish when these habitat features are removed.

Planting and protecting trees will help the woodpecker. If a standing dead tree poses a danger to people or structures, remove the tree’s branches and cut it down to a safe height. Nut-producing trees like oak, beech, hazel and hickory trees will help attract woodpeckers, as will the fruits of hackberry, grape, dogwood, elderberry, sumac and Virginia creeper plants. Rotting logs also provide ants for woodpeckers, such as the Northern Flicker, to feed upon.

Personally, I like to keep a feeder supplied with suet during the winter months. It’s really their favourite food and you’ll be guaranteed to have visits from these fascinating birds as well as many other species. What better way to have natural insect control. Just remember though to remove any suet once the warm weather comes as the melting suet is not good for the birds and may attract unwanted visitors such as raccoons and bears. 

Please feel free to report any observations to Lorraine Julien at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  or Steve Blight at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.