Red Bellied Woodpecker – Gender differences

A dead palm tree on a vacant lot down the street has attracted a pair of Red-bellied Woodpeckers who have decided to nest there.  It may not be a good choice since the owners have just had a dock and boat lift installed which means that a house will be going up there soon.

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You can see that they have pretty well smoothed the bark around the hole and I could see that they were still working on excavation.  You can tell the difference between the male and female by the amount of red on their head.  The males coloring is more extensive and includes some read feathering around the beak.  The female carries her coloring further back on the head.  Here, the male is on the left and the female on the right.  They are both looking for food in the ruff of a living palm next to the dead one in which they are nesting.

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I hope I’ll get to see some young ones before long.

 

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About birds n' bugs

Retired, living in SW Florida and spending my time at nature photography in my local area. I volunteer with a couple of local organizations to help my adopted home town. Travelling is now by airplane and car instead of a sailboat but happy anyway.
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6 Responses to Red Bellied Woodpecker – Gender differences

  1. susan difabbio says:

    I have a pair of re-bellied woodpeckers in my back yard, now the black birds are invading their nest, killing the eggs. I did shoot a hose and chased them out, but for how long who knows

  2. Daretolov says:

    Love my Red Bellied Wood Peckers… they sure do love the meal worms… SW Florida.

  3. Elizabeth Salmon says:

    I have a male red headed wood pecker at my pine tree since Dec. what can I make for food fr them.

  4. Elizabeth Salmon says:

    the one that I have have bee hang on my bird feeder and has been eating bird seed.

  5. Elizabeth Salmon says:

    what else can I feed him

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