Bird guide · Melanerpes erythrocephalus
Red-headed Woodpecker
What the red-headed woodpecker eats, where it lives, when it comes to feeders and how to recognise it – with sightings from every US state.
- Season
- Partial migrant; short-distance, not south of the US.
- Size
- 8.6 in (22 cm)
- Eats
- suet, sunflower, peanuts
- Most common
- Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri
Food
What do red-headed woodpeckers eat?
At feeders, red-headed woodpeckers take suet, sunflower, peanuts.
Stores acorns and other nuts in holes and crevices in fall.
Feeder that suits it
A suet cage on a tree trunk or pole; peanuts and sunflower hearts work too.
Range
Where do red-headed woodpeckers live?
Semi-open country of the East; now uncommon and local in many regions. By share of all bird sightings, red-headed woodpeckers are most common in Iowa (0.9%).
States where red-headed woodpeckers are most common
- Iowa0.9%
- Nebraska0.8%
- Missouri0.7%
- Mississippi0.6%
- South Dakota0.6%
- Indiana0.6%
- Kansas0.5%
- Arkansas0.5%
- Georgia0.5%
- Illinois0.5%
Share of all bird sightings in each state that are red-headed woodpeckers, 2019–2024.
Season
Does the red-headed woodpecker migrate?
Partial migrant; short-distance, not south of the US.. Across the US it is reported in every month; its share of bird sightings is highest in May.
Share of all bird sightings in the US that are red-headed woodpeckers, by month.
Identification
How to identify the red-headed woodpecker
Male: Solid black, white and red: all-red head and big white wing patches.
Female: Identical to male.
Young birds: Brown head and dark bars across the white wing patch.
Size: 8.6 in (22 cm)
Easily confused with
- Red-breasted Sapsucker – western; compare in the West
On camera
Getting the red-headed woodpecker on a feeder camera
Pick a camera feeder that takes a suet cage, or mount a separate camera next to a suet feeder on the trunk – woodpeckers cling to the bark while they feed.
Questions
Red-headed Woodpecker: questions
What do red-headed woodpeckers eat?
At feeders, suet, sunflower, peanuts.
Do red-headed woodpeckers migrate?
Partial migrant; short-distance, not south of the US.. Across the US it is reported in every month; its share of bird sightings is highest in May.
Where do red-headed woodpeckers live?
By share of all bird sightings, they are most common in Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Mississippi, South Dakota. They are rare or absent in Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Idaho.
What does a female red-headed woodpecker look like?
Identical to male.