Pictures of Woodpeckers

These birds eat insects, seed, nuts, berries, suet, spiders and eggs. They make drumming noises on trees, and other objects as territorial claims. They are monogamous birds making their nests in trees and tree cavaties.  They have one brood of 3-7 white eggs per year. Males sit on the eggs at night time. Nice of them to give the female a break!

The Hairy Woodpecker can easily be confused with the Downy Woodpecker.  Their coloring is almost identical. However the Hairy woodpecker is larger, up to 10.5 inches in length. It also has a much longer black bill.  They are very easy to confuse, but if side-by-side, very easy to tell them apart.

The Hairy woodpecker is also predominant throughout North America. It is a noisier bird than the Downy and less trusting of humans.  They also feed on seed, suet, nuts, berries and insects. They will also feed on tree sap.

The Hairy woodpecker is also monogamous, sometimes mating for the same partner for many years. They offer a brood of 3-6 eggs per year.

The Red Bellied Woodpecker is a common woodpecker in the eastern half of the United States. It is also about 10.5 inches long. Both male and female birds have white/gray bellies and necks and faces. Their backs and wings are black with a white zebra pattern stripes. They have a black tail and a long beak that is slightly turned down. Males have a large red stripe starting at the nape and extending up over the head and down to the bill. The female has this same striping, however it extends only from the nape to the middle of top of her head.

These are noisy woodpeckers, drumming during breeding season. They eat seed, suet, sap, fruits and insects.  They offer 1 brood of 3-8 white eggs each year. Both the male and the female Red-Bellied woodpecker build their nest, sometimes using abandoned tree holes.

The Northern Flicker is a larger woodpecker found throughout North and Central America. This woodpecker stands up to 14 inches tall. These striking birds have brown back and wings with black barring. Their stomach is white with black spots. They have a short black tail. They have a gray neck and head, a tan face and a red splotch on the back of their heads just above the nape. Males have a black "mustache" right where you'd expect to find it. Both sexes have a long grayish bill.

Northern Flickers are one of the only woodpeckers to migrate, though many of them do not. They are primarily ground feeders, finding insects, seeds, berries and nuts. Their primary diet is the tasty ant.