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Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)

Length: 10 in.
Habitat: Open and swmp woodlands, comes into parks during migration and to feeders in winter.
Range: Chiefly southwestern United States west to Texas, ranging north to Minnesota, Michigan, and Connecticut.

This Robin-sized woodpecker is barred black and white above and pale buff below. Sexes are similar except that male has red crown and nape, and female has red nape only. A red patch on the lower abdomen is seldom visible in the field.

The common woodpecker over much of the South, the red-bellied is scarcer farther north but has expanded its breeding range in recent years to New York and Southern New England. LIke most woodpeckers, the "zebraback" is beneficial, consuming vast numbers of wood-boring beetles as well as grasshoppers, ants, and other insect pests. It also feeds on acorns, beechnuts, and wild fruits.