Saturday, February 21, 2009

A Redder-bellied Woodpecker

I thought the female Red-bellied Woodpecker in Murray Head's photo [see previous posting] had a fine red belly. Now Lysiane Ribeiro M.D. sends in a photo she took in April, 2006, [also at the Oven feeding station] of a male of the species. What a red-bellied Red-bellied Woodpecker he is!
PS How can you tell the male R-b W from the female? The red on the male's head goes all the way over to the bill. The red on the female's head stops at about eye level, with white continuing up to the bill.

PPS Please note the correction at the end of the previous posting, changing the photo's location from the Evodia Field to the Oven.

PPPS Murray's photo was taken in February, while Lysiane's was taken in April. I believe the red on both males' and females' bellies gets redder as the breeding season progresses.