RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER
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The red-bellied woodpecker is a resident of the eastern United States and is found throughout the Historic Triangle during all seasons of the year. It is particularly noticeable in the fall and winter months when it readily comes to feeders stocked with cracked corn or commercial bird food.

Like all members of the family, the red-bellied woodpecker is colorful and noisy. Attired in a zebra suit of black and white and a seaman’s cap of red, the robin-sized bird is easily recognized. The name red-bellied seems a misnomer because the reddish abdomen is difficult to see by casual observance.

The red-bellied is equally at home in desolate forests or the backyards of man. In both locations, it goes about the job of cleaning up obnoxious pests such as caterpillars, beetles, spiders and bugs. Occasionally, fruit or corn will be eaten and the seeds of dogwood and sassafras are favorite foods in the fall season.

The red-bellied woodpecker nests in a hole drilled in a post or dead tree anywhere from fifteen to sixty feet above the ground. Three to five gray-white eggs are laid and the young hatch in about two weeks.

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