Oil, 4 x 4 inches
Three things stand out to me regarding Red-bellied Woodpeckers. The first is their call. It’s a familiar sound of my childhood. Now that I live just a bit north of their territory, I don’t see or hear them anymore unless I visit my mother in Wisconsin.
Anyway, when it comes to the king of feeding stations, according to 7,653 observations by a group of volunteers, the Red-bellied Woodpecker outranks all of North America’s top 13 feeder species. So, which birds does the Red-bellied Woodpecker intimidate? You might be happy to know that two pesky birds, the European Starling and House Sparrow are among those commonly displaced. Others that cry uncle are the Blue Jay, American Goldfinch, Black-capped Chickadee, Dark-eyed Junco, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Tufted Titmouse, House Finch, Northern Cardinal, and the White-breasted Nuthatch.2 To see a fun, interactive diagram, click here. Had the Red-headed Woodpecker been in the top mix of feeder species, the Red-bellied Woodpecker would’ve been the one to throw in the towel.3
References
1. Pearson, T. Gilbert. Birds of America.Garden City. Garden City Publishing Company Inc., 1937, II160.
2. Haigh, Alison. “When 136 Bird Species Show Up At A Feeder, Which One Wins?” The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. 1 June 2018 <https://www.allaboutbirds.org/when-136-bird-species-show-up-at-a-feeder-which-one-wins/>.
3. “Who is the toughest bird?” Project FeederWatch. 2017. E. T. Miller, D. N. Bonter, C. Eldermire, B. G. Freeman, E. I. Greig, L. J. Harmon, C. Lisle, W. M. Hochachka. 9 Oct. 2017. Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Bird Studies Canada. 1 June 2018 <https://feederwatch.org/blog/who-is-the-toughest-bird/>
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