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Red-headed Woodpecker - Melanerpes erythrocephalus

Image Copyright and Usage Information
Species of Concern
Native Species

Global Rank: G5
State Rank: S3B


Agency Status
USFWS: MBTA; BCC11; BCC17
USFS:
BLM: SENSITIVE
FWP SWAP: SGCN3
PIF: 2

External Links


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Copyright by Borror Laboratory of Bioacoustics, Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, all rights reserved.
 
General Description
Red-headed Woodpeckers are medium sized woodpeckers averaging approximately 9.25 inches in length. Adults of both sexes have a bright red color on their entire head, neck and throat. The underparts are white and the back is a blue-black (National Geographic Society 1987). Red-headed Woodpeckers have a strikingly white rump patch and inner wing (secondaries) patches that are clearly visible in flight and while perched (Sibley 2000). Juveniles have an overall brown color to their head, neck and throat. They obtain the red during their first winter molt (National Geographic Society 1987).

The vocalization of the Red-headed Woodpecker is a wheezy "queeah" or "queerp" contact call similar to the Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus), but weaker overall. They also have a low, harsh "chug" call while in flight, also similar to the Red-bellied Woodpecker (Sibley 2000). Their drum is weak, short and slow.

For a comprehensive review of the conservation status, habitat use, and ecology of this and other Montana bird species, please see Marks et al. 2016, Birds of Montana.

Diagnostic Characteristics
The completely red head (in adults) and the white wing patches (on secondaries) are both diagnostic features separating the Red-headed Woodpecker from any other woodpecker. The Red-bellied Woodpecker is sometimes confused with, and given the same name as, the Red-headed Woodpecker. However, a close look will reveal no red on the throat or the sides of the head on the Red-bellied as well as a lack of white wing patches. The Red-breasted Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus ruber) is also superficially similar to the Red-headed Woodpecker. However, their ranges do not overlap and the sapsucker has white patterning on the back, rather than the all black back and white rump of the Red-headed Woodpecker (Smith et al. 2000).

Species Range
Montana Range Range Descriptions

All Ranges
Summer
Migratory
(Click legend blocks to view individual ranges)

Western Hemisphere Range


eBird Occurrence Map

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Courtesy of eBird and Cornell Lab of Ornithology
 


Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database
Number of Observations: 1303

(Click on the following maps and charts to see full sized version) Map Help and Descriptions
Relative Density

Recency

SUMMER (Feb 16 - Dec 14)
Direct Evidence of Breeding

Indirect Evidence of Breeding

No Evidence of Breeding

WINTER (Dec 15 - Feb 15)
Regularly Observed

Not Regularly Observed


 

(Observations spanning multiple months or years are excluded from time charts)



Migration
Little information regarding migration of Red-headed Woodpeckers is known for Montana. Red-headed Woodpeckers are said to arrive in mid-May and leave in mid-September (Cameron 1907). Montana Bird Distribution (2012) confirms this during spring with reports of migratory observations in May. However, Montana Bird Distribution has no records of transience or migration in September. The latest observations for fall migration are in August (Montana Bird Distribution Committee 2012). In fall, Red-headed Woodpeckers likely follow watercourses during their migration (Robbins and Easterla 1992), taking them east into North and South Dakota or southeast into Wyoming before they turn south heading for their wintering grounds in the Midwest and southern states. During spring migration, they probably follow these same watercourses into the state from areas further east and south.

Habitat
With no systematic surveys completed within the state, little is known about Red-headed Woodpecker habitat in Montana. When they have been observed, they are usually found along major rivers having riparian forest associated with them. Another area where they may be found is open savannah country, as long as adequate ground cover, snags and canopy cover can be found. Large burns can also be utilized by the species (Bent 1939, Ehrlich et al. 1988). They nest in holes excavated 2 to 25 meters above ground by both sexes in live trees, dead stubs, utility poles, or fence posts. Sometimes they use existing holes in poles or posts. Individuals typically nest in the same tree or cavity in successive years (Ingold 1991).

Ecological Systems Associated with this Species
  • Details on Creation and Suggested Uses and Limitations
    How Associations Were Made
    We associated the use and habitat quality (common or occasional) of each of the 82 ecological systems mapped in Montana for vertebrate animal species that regularly breed, overwinter, or migrate through the state by:
    1. Using personal observations and reviewing literature that summarize the breeding, overwintering, or migratory habitat requirements of each species (Dobkin 1992, Hart et al. 1998, Hutto and Young 1999, Maxell 2000, Foresman 2012, Adams 2003, and Werner et al. 2004);
    2. Evaluating structural characteristics and distribution of each ecological system relative to the species' range and habitat requirements;
    3. Examining the observation records for each species in the state-wide point observation database associated with each ecological system;
    4. Calculating the percentage of observations associated with each ecological system relative to the percent of Montana covered by each ecological system to get a measure of "observations versus availability of habitat".
    Species that breed in Montana were only evaluated for breeding habitat use, species that only overwinter in Montana were only evaluated for overwintering habitat use, and species that only migrate through Montana were only evaluated for migratory habitat use.  In general, species were listed as associated with an ecological system if structural characteristics of used habitat documented in the literature were present in the ecological system or large numbers of point observations were associated with the ecological system.  However, species were not listed as associated with an ecological system if there was no support in the literature for use of structural characteristics in an ecological system, even if point observations were associated with that system.  Common versus occasional association with an ecological system was assigned based on the degree to which the structural characteristics of an ecological system matched the preferred structural habitat characteristics for each species as represented in scientific literature.  The percentage of observations associated with each ecological system relative to the percent of Montana covered by each ecological system was also used to guide assignment of common versus occasional association.  If you have any questions or comments on species associations with ecological systems, please contact the Montana Natural Heritage Program's Senior Zoologist.

    Suggested Uses and Limitations
    Species associations with ecological systems should be used to generate potential lists of species that may occupy broader landscapes for the purposes of landscape-level planning.  These potential lists of species should not be used in place of documented occurrences of species (this information can be requested at: mtnhp.org/requests) or systematic surveys for species and evaluations of habitat at a local site level by trained biologists.  Users of this information should be aware that the land cover data used to generate species associations is based on imagery from the late 1990s and early 2000s and was only intended to be used at broader landscape scales.  Land cover mapping accuracy is particularly problematic when the systems occur as small patches or where the land cover types have been altered over the past decade.  Thus, particular caution should be used when using the associations in assessments of smaller areas (e.g., evaluations of public land survey sections).  Finally, although a species may be associated with a particular ecological system within its known geographic range, portions of that ecological system may occur outside of the species' known geographic range.

    Literature Cited
    • Adams, R.A.  2003.  Bats of the Rocky Mountain West; natural history, ecology, and conservation.  Boulder, CO: University Press of Colorado.  289 p.
    • Dobkin, D. S.  1992.  Neotropical migrant land birds in the Northern Rockies and Great Plains. USDA Forest Service, Northern Region. Publication No. R1-93-34.  Missoula, MT.
    • Foresman, K.R.  2012.  Mammals of Montana.  Second edition.  Mountain Press Publishing, Missoula, Montana.  429 pp.
    • Hart, M.M., W.A. Williams, P.C. Thornton, K.P. McLaughlin, C.M. Tobalske, B.A. Maxell, D.P. Hendricks, C.R. Peterson, and R.L. Redmond. 1998.  Montana atlas of terrestrial vertebrates.  Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, University of Montana, Missoula, MT.  1302 p.
    • Hutto, R.L. and J.S. Young.  1999.  Habitat relationships of landbirds in the Northern Region, USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station RMRS-GTR-32.  72 p.
    • Maxell, B.A.  2000.  Management of Montana's amphibians: a review of factors that may present a risk to population viability and accounts on the identification, distribution, taxonomy, habitat use, natural history, and the status and conservation of individual species.  Report to U.S. Forest Service Region 1.  Missoula, MT: Wildlife Biology Program, University of Montana.  161 p.
    • Werner, J.K., B.A. Maxell, P. Hendricks, and D. Flath.  2004.  Amphibians and reptiles of Montana.  Missoula, MT: Mountain Press Publishing Company. 262 p.

Food Habits
Food habits have not been studied in Montana to date. Studies in other areas of the species' range reveal that Red-headed Woodpeckers eat insects and other invertebrates, berries and nuts, sap, and the young and eggs of birds. Often they will flycatch, or forage on the ground and in trees (dead wood) and shrubs. Animal food is about 50% of their diet. Rarely will they drill into trees for insects (Terres 1980). Red-headed Woodpeckers cache food items in crevices. Young are fed insects, worms, spiders, and berries.

Ecology
No ecological information concerning Red-headed Woodpeckers exists for Montana. However, in other regions of their range, including Michigan, European Starlings (Sternus vulgaris) usurped 52% of Red-headed Woodpecker nest cavities (Ingold 1989). In Ohio, 15% of cavities were lost to European Starlings (Ingold 1994). Woodpeckers do not necessarily incur a reduction in fecundity because they may be able to renest successfully later in the season, though this is not without its problems (Ingold 1994). They exhibit high fidelity to the breeding site as 15 of 45 banded adults returned to the previous year's nest area (Ingold 1991); one male moved 1 kilometer between breeding seasons (Belson 1998).

Summer territories range from 3.1 to 8.5 hectares (Venables and Collopy 1989); winter territories are smaller, ranging only 0.17 hectare to 1 hectare (Williams and Batzli 1979, Venables and Collopy 1989, Moskovits 1978).

Reproductive Characteristics
No specific information regarding Red-headed Woodpecker reproduction in Montana is currently available. However, information from other areas of the species breeding range, specifically the southeastern U.S. and Ohio, state that nests generally are initiated in early May (Ingold 1989, 1994). Clutch size is four to seven eggs (usually five). Incubation lasts about 14 days, by both sexes. Both parents tend young, and they leave the nest at about 27 days.

Management
No known active management is ongoing for Red-headed Woodpeckers in the state. In fact, the species is virtually unmonitored in Montana (Casey 2000). Red-headed Woodpeckers are a Species of Management Concern in U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Region 6 (USFWS 1995).


References
  • Literature Cited AboveLegend:   View Online Publication
    • Belson, M. S. 1998. Red-headed woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) use of habitat at Wekiwa Springs State Park, Florida. M.S. thesis, University of Central Florida, Orlando.
    • Bent, A. C. 1939. Life histories of North American woodpeckers. U.S. National Museum Bulletin 174. Washington, D.C. 334 pp.
    • Casey, D. 2000. Partners in Flight Draft Bird Conservation Plan Montana. Version 1.0. 287 pp.
    • Ehrlich, P.R., D.S. Dobkin, and D. Wheye. 1988. The birder's handbook: a field guide to the natural history of North American birds. Simon and Shuster, Inc., New York. xxx + 785 pp.
    • Ingold, D. J. 1989. Nesting phenology and competition for nest sites among red-headed and red-bellied woodpeckers and European starlings. Auk 106:209-217.
    • Ingold, D. J. 1994. Influence of nest-site competition between European starlings and woodpeckers. Wilson Bulletin 106:227-241.
    • Ingold, D.J. 1991. Nest-site fidelity in red-headed and red-bellied woodpeckers. Wilson Bulletin 103(1):118.
    • Marks, J.S., P. Hendricks, and D. Casey. 2016. Birds of Montana. Arrington, VA. Buteo Books. 659 pages.
    • Montana Bird Distribution Committee. 2012. P.D. Skaar's Montana bird distribution. 7th Edition. Montana Audubon, Helena, Montana. 208 pp. + foldout map.
    • Moskovits, D. 1978. Winter territorial and foraging behavior of red-headed woodpecker in Florida. Wilson Bulletin 90:521-535.
    • National Geographic Society. 1987. Field guide to the birds of North America. Second edition. National Geographic Society, Washington, D.C.
    • Robbins, M. B. and D. A. Easterla. 1992. Birds of Missouri, their distribution and abundance. University of Missouri Press, Columbia, Missouri.
    • Sibley, D.A. 2000. The Sibley guide to birds. National Audubon Society and Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York, NY. 544 pp.
    • Terres, J.K. 1980. The Audubon Society encyclopedia of North American birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. 1109 pp.
    • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Migratory Bird Management. 1995. Migratory nongame birds of management concern in the United States: the 1995 list. U.S. Government Printing Office: 1996-404-911/44014. 22 pp.
    • Venables, A. and M. W. Collopy. 1989. Seasonal foraging and habitat requirements of red-headed woodpeckers in north-central Florida. Florida Game Fresh Water Fish Commission, Non-game Wildlife Program Final Report. Project no. GFC-84-006.
    • Williams, J. B. and G. O. Batzli. 1979. Competition among bark-foraging birds in central Illinois: experimental evidence. Condor 81:122-132.
  • Additional ReferencesLegend:   View Online Publication
    Do you know of a citation we're missing?
    • [PRESI] Powder River Eagle Studies Incorporated. 1998b. Spring Creek Mine 1997 wildlife monitoring studies. Powder River Eagle Studies Incorporated. Gillete, WY.
    • American Ornithologists Union. 1983. Checklist of North American birds, 6th Edition. 877 PP.
    • American Ornithologists’ Union [AOU]. 1998. Check-list of North American birds, 7th edition. American Ornithologists’ Union, Washington, D.C. 829 p.
    • Bird Conservancy of the Rockies. 2017. Pocket Guide to Northern Prairie Birds. Brighton, CO: Bird Conservancy of the Rockies. 98 p.
    • Bock, C.E., H.H. Hadow, and P. Somers. 1971. Relations between Lewis's and red-headed woodpeckers in southeastern Colorado. Wilson Bulletin 83:237-248.
    • Bramblett, R.G., and A.V. Zale. 2002. Montana Prairie Riparian Native Species Report. Montana Cooperative Fishery Research Unit, Montana State University - Bozeman.
    • Cameron, E. S. 1907. The birds of Custer and Dawson counties, Montana. Auk 24(3): 241-270.
    • Dood, A.R. 1980. Terry Badlands nongame survey and inventory final report. Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks and Bureau of Land Management, Helena, MT. 70 pp.
    • DuBois, K.L. 1979. An inventory of the avifauna in the Long Pines of Southeastern Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 113 p.
    • ECON, Inc. (Ecological Consulting Service), Helena, MT., 1975, Colstrip 10 x 20 Area wildlife and wildlife habitat annual monitoring report, 1975. Proj. 71-23-A. December 31, 1975.
    • ECON, Inc. (Ecological Consulting Service), Helena, MT., 1976, Colstrip 10 x 20 Area wildlife and wildlife habitat annual monitoring report, 1976. Proj. 135-85-A. December 31, 1976.
    • ECON, Inc. (Ecological Consulting Service), Helena, MT., 1977, Colstrip 10 x 20 Area wildlife and wildlife habitat annual monitoring report, 1977. Proj. 164-85-A. December 31, 1977.
    • ECON, Inc. (Ecological Consulting Service), Helena, MT., 1979, Annual wildllife report of the Colstrip Area for 1978. Proj. 195-85-A. April 6, 1979.
    • ECON, Inc. (Ecological Consulting Service), Helena, MT., 1979, Area B four-section wildlife report. August 3, 1979.
    • Econ, Inc. 1988. Wildlife monitoring report, 1987 field season, Big Sky Mine. March 1988. In Peabody Mining and Reclamation Plan Big Sky Mine Area B. Vol. 8, cont., Tab 10 - Wildlife Resources. Appendix 10-1, 1987 Annual Wildlife Report.
    • Econ, Inc., Helena, MT., 1978, Peabody Coal Company Big Sky Mine, Rosebud County, MT. Wildlife and wildlife habitat monitoring study. Proj. 190-85-A. December 31, 1978.
    • Econ, Inc., Helena, MT., 1991, Wildlife monitoring report: 1989 field season, Big Sky Mine. March 1991.
    • Ehrlich, P., D. Dobkin, and D. Wheye. 1988. The birder’s handbook: a field guide to the natural history of North American birds. Simon and Schuster Inc. New York. 785 pp.
    • Fjell, Alan K., and Brian R. Mahan., 1983, Peabody Coal Company Big Sky Mine, Rosebud County, MT. Wildlife monitoring report: 1982 field season. May 1983.
    • Fjell, Alan K., and Brian R. Mahan., 1985, Peabody Coal Company Big Sky Mine, Rosebud County, MT. Wildlife monitoring report: 1984 field season. February 1985.
    • Garcia and Associates, 2004. Northern Goshawk Surveys for the East Short Pines and the Ekalaka Hills, Sioux Ranger District, Custer National Forest. 8 pp. plus appendices.
    • Hays, R., R.L. Eng, and C.V. Davis (preparers). 1984. A list of Montana birds. Helena, MT: MT Dept. of Fish, Wildlife & Parks.
    • Herbert, J.T. 1977. An inventory of the bird population within the Sarpy Creek drainage, southeastern Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 81 p.
    • Hoffmann, R.S. 1960. Summer birds of the Little Belt Mountains, Montana. Missoula, MT: Occasional Papers of Montana State University No. 1. 18 p.
    • Johnsgard, P.A. 1992. Birds of the Rocky Mountains with particular reference to national parks in the northern Rocky Mountain region. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. xi + 504 pp.
    • Joslin, Gayle, and Heidi B. Youmans. 1999. Effects of recreation on Rocky Mountain wildlife: a review for Montana. [Montana]: Montana Chapter of the Wildlife Society.
    • Kilham, L. 1958. Territorial behavior of wintering Red-headed Woodpeckers. Wilson Bulletin 70:347-358.
    • Knopf, F.L. 1986. Changing landscapes and the cosmopolitism of the eastern Colorado avifauna. Wildlife Society Bulletin 14(2):132-142.
    • Lenard, S., J. Carlson, J. Ellis, C. Jones, and C. Tilly. 2003. P. D. Skaar's Montana bird distribution, 6th edition. Montana Audubon, Helena, MT. 144 pp.
    • Matthews, W.L. 1980a. Wibaux-Beach comparison study: Sydney, Glendive and Plevna Study Areas. Bureau of Land Management, Miles City, MT. 50 p.
    • Matthews, W.L. 1981. Broadus-Pumpkin Creek baseline inventory - wildlife. Bureau of Land Management, Miles City, MT. 83 p.
    • Maxell, B.A. 2016. Northern Goshawk surveys on the Beartooth, Ashland, and Sioux Districts of the Custer-Gallatin National Forest: 2012-2014. Montana Natural Heritage Program. Helena, MT. 114pp.
    • National Geographic Society. 1983. Field guide to the birds of North America. Second Edition. National Geographic Society, Washington, DC.
    • Oechsli, L.M. 2000. Ex-urban development in the Rocky Mountain West: consequences for native vegetation, wildlife diversity, and land-use planning in Big Sky, Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Montana State University, Bozeman. 73 p.
    • Powder River Eagle Studies, Inc., Gillette, WY., 2000, Spring Creek Mine 2000 Wildlife Monitoring. March 2000.
    • Pulich, W. M. 1988. The birds of northcentral Texas. Texas A & M Univ. Press, College Station.
    • Rundquist, V.M. 1973. Avian ecology on stock ponds in two vegetational types in north-central Montana. Ph.D. Dissertation. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 112 p.
    • Saunders, A.A. 1914. The birds of Teton and northern Lewis & Clark counties, Montana. Condor 16:124-144.
    • Saunders, A.A. 1921. A distributional list of the birds of Montana: With notes on the migration and nesting of the better known species. Pacific Coast Avifauna No. 14. pp. 38-39, 118-119.
    • Scott, V.E., K.E. Evans, D.R. Patton, and C.P. Stone. 1977. Cavity-nesting birds of North American forests. U.S. Forest Service Agriculture Handbook 511. 112 pp.
    • Sedgwick, J. A., and F. L. Knopf. 1990. Habitat relationships and nest site characteristics of cavity-nesting birds in cottonwood floodplains. J. Wildl. Manage. 54:112-124.
    • Sedgwick, J.A. and F.L. Knopf. 1986. Cavity-nesting birds and the cavity-tree resource in plains cottonwood bottomlands. Journal of Wildlife Management 50(2):247-252.
    • Sibley, D. 2014. The Sibley guide to birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, NY. 598 pp.
    • Skaar, P. D., D. L. Flath, and L. S. Thompson. 1985. Montana bird distribution. Montana Academy of Sciences Monograph 3(44): ii-69.
    • Skaar, P.D. 1969. Birds of the Bozeman latilong: a compilation of data concerning the birds which occur between 45 and 46 N. latitude and 111 and 112 W. longitude, with current lists for Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, impinging Montana counties and Yellowstone National Park. Bozeman, MT. 132 p.
    • Smith, K.G., J.H. Withgott, and P.G. Rodewald. 2000. Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus). Species Account Number 518. The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca, NY: Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology; Retrieved 3/25/2008 from The Birds of North America Online database
    • Stewart, R.E. and H.A. Kantrud. 1972. Population estimates of breeding birds in North Dakota. The Auk 89(4):766-788.
    • Taylor, D.M. and C.H. Trost. 1987. The status of historically rare of unrecorded birds in Idaho. Unpublished manuscript. 68 p.
    • Thompson, L.S. 1981. Circle West wildlife monitoring study: Third annual report. Technical report No. 8. Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. Helena, Montana.
    • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2021. Birds of Conservation Concern 2021. United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Migratory Birds, Falls Church, Virginia.
    • U.S. Forest Service. 1991. Forest and rangeland birds of the United States: Natural history and habitat use. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service Agricultural Handbook 688. 625 pages.
    • United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). 1984. Texas bottomland hardwood preservation program, category 3. U. S. Fish and Wildl. Serv., Albuquerque, New Mexico.
    • Watts, C.R. and L.C. Eichhorn. 1981. Changes in the birds of central Montana. Proceedings of the Montana Academy of Sciences 40:31-40.
    • Western Energy Co., Colstrip, MT., 1981, Western Energy Company Rosebud Mine, Colstrip, Montana: Annual Wildlife Report, 1981.
    • Westmoreland Resources, Inc., Hardin, MT., 1983, 1980 Wildlife Monitoring Report. 12/21/79-12/20-80.
    • White, C.M., N.J. Van Lanen, D.C. Pavlacky Jr., J.A. Blakesley, R.A. Sparks, J.M.Stenger, J.A. Rehm-Lorber, M.F. McLaren, F. Cardone, J.J. Birek and D.J. Hanni. 2011. Integrated monitoring of bird conservation regions (IMBCR): 2010 Annual Report. Brighton, CO: Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory. 387 p.
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Red-headed Woodpecker — Melanerpes erythrocephalus.  Montana Field Guide.  .  Retrieved on , from