Illustration © David Allen Sibley.
Learn more about these drawings.
Text © Kenn Kaufman, adapted from
Lives of North American Birds
Photo: USFWS
Red-cockaded Woodpecker
Dryobates borealis
| Conservation status | Endangered. Has disappeared from many areas of former occurrence, with ongoing decline documented in several regions. Total population perhaps under 10,000, many of these in isolated groups facing local extinction. Causes for decline include suppression of natural fires, over-cutting of pine forest in southeast. |
|---|---|
| Family | Woodpeckers |
| Habitat | Open pine woodlands. Ideal habitat is mature pine woods (trees 80-100 or more years old), with very open understory maintained by frequent fires (the pines are fire-resistant). Most common in longleaf pine, but inhabits other pines as well, rarely cypress adjacent to pine woods. |
Photo Gallery
Feeding Behavior
Forages mainly on pine trunks and branches, flaking off bits of bark in search of insects underneath. Family groups may forage together, males tending to forage on branches and upper trunk, females on lower trunk.
Eggs
3-4, sometimes 2-5. White. Incubation is by both parents and to some extent by additional helpers; breeding male is on nest at night. Incubation period notably short, about 10-11 days. Young: Are fed by both parents and by helpers. Young leave nest at about 26-29 days. 1 brood per year, rarely 2.
Young
Are fed by both parents and by helpers. Young leave nest at about 26-29 days. 1 brood per year, rarely 2.
Diet
Mostly insects. Feeds mainly on insects and other arthropods, especially ants and beetles, also termites, roaches, centipedes, and others. Also eats some wild fruits and pine seeds.
Nesting
Taking part in nesting are the breeding pair plus 1-4 additional "helpers." These helpers are mostly males (70-95% of those studied) and mostly the breeding pair's offspring from previous seasons. Nest: Preferred sites are cavities excavated in large live pines infected with red heart fungus (which gives tree soft center inside solid outer shell). Cavity usually 30-40' above ground, can be much lower or higher (to well above 100'). Entrance surrounded by tiny holes from which sticky resin oozes out, protecting nest from climbing predators.
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- All Seasons - Common
- All Seasons - Uncommon
- Breeding - Common
- Breeding - Uncommon
- Winter - Common
- Winter - Uncommon
- Migration - Common
- Migration - Uncommon
Songs and Calls
A nuthatch-like yank-yank. Also a rattling scold note.How climate change could affect this bird's range
In the broadest and most detailed study of its kind, Audubon scientists have used hundreds of thousands of citizen-science observations and sophisticated climate models to predict how birds in the U.S. and Canada will react to climate change.
Read more: climate.audubon.org
Each map is a visual guide to where a particular bird species may find the climate conditions it needs to survive in the future. We call this the bird’s “climatic range.”
The colors indicate the season in which the bird may find suitable conditions— blue for winter, yellow for summer (breeding), and green for where they overlap (indicating their presence year-round).
The darker the shaded area, the more likely it is the bird species will find suitable climate conditions to survive there.
The outline of the approximate current range for each season remains fixed in each frame, allowing you to compare how the range will expand, contract, or shift in the future.
The first frame of the animation shows where the bird can find a suitable climate today (based on data from 2000). The next three frames predict where this bird’s suitable climate may shift in the future—one frame each for 2020, 2050, and 2080.
You can play or pause the animation with the orange button in the lower left, or select an individual frame to study by clicking on its year.
Red-cockaded Woodpecker In the News More News
Conservation
Baseball for the Birds: A New North Carolina Team Rallies Around an Endangered Species
Inspired by the Red-cockaded Woodpecker's resilience, the Houston Astros affiliate has chosen the bird to be its official mascot.
Audubon In Action
How Hurricane Michael Affected the Florida Panhandle's Coastal Landscape
The devastation to human communities is overwhelming, but the story for birds is more complex.
Conservation
A Bipartisan Deal Could Save a Key Conservation Program About to Expire
The Land and Water Conservation Fund protects habitat critical for birds and beloved by birders. Just days before it expires, lawmakers are working together to extend it permanently.
