Red Bellied Woodpecker—You Can Really See That!

Many people still try to make this species into something it is not. They try often to tell me they have seen a Red Headed Woodpecker. When I identify it as a Red Bellied Woodpecker, they are incredulous and skeptical. I have to explain that this one’s head is not truly red but a little orange and the neck is white or buff. The true Red Headed Woodpecker, I say, has cherry red from its neck to the top of its head and is 360.

This doesn’t often satisfy the skeptic. I further explain that the observer doesn’t always see its belly. However, this one posed in such a way as to facilitate the sighting of its red belly. You can really see it.

But when I travel I still get a thrill out of fixing my binoculars on a Red Headed