Red-headed Woodpecker

Red-headed Woodpecker exhibit unique behaviors among woodpeckers, such as capturing insects in flight and engaging in 'hide and seek' courtship. These strong and stable fliers maintain a territorial nature, often defending their area fiercely against other birds. The distinctive bobbing displays in both sexes during aggression, marked by pointed heads, drooping wings, and raised tails, are a notable aspect of their behavior. Aside from their solitary winter existence, red-headed Woodpecker may form lasting pair bonds over several breeding seasons and show resilience against various predators, from snakes to larger raptors.

The red-headed woodpecker is rated as least concern on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)'s Red List of Endangered species. It was formerly rated as near threatened, having been reclassified from Least Concern in 2004 after it appeared to have experienced a 65.5% decline in population over 40 years; from 1966-2015 there was a greater than 1.5% annual population decline throughout the Mississippi and Ohio River valleys, and in central Florida. Increased habitat management, however, has caused its numbers to stabilize, thus leading to its downlisting. The red-headed woodpecker was historically a common species in southern Canada and the east-central United States. Consistent long-term population declines have resulted in red-headed woodpecker's threatened status in Canada and several states in the US. Throughout most of its range it inhabits areas that have been heavily altered by humans. Factors suggested for red-headed woodpecker declines include: loss of overall habitat and, within habitats, standing dead wood required for nest sites, limitations of food supply, and possible nest-site competition with other cavity nesters such as European starlings or red-bellied woodpeckers. Of the 600 Canadian Important Bird Areas only seven report the red-headed woodpecker in their area: Cabot Head, Ontario on the Georgian Bay side of the tip of Bruce Peninsula; Carden Plain, Ontario east of Lake Simcoe; Long Point Peninsula and Marshes, Ontario along Lake Erie near London, Ontario; Point Abino, Ontario on Lake Erie near Niagara Falls; Port Franks Forested Dunes, Ontario northeast of Sarnia on Lake Huron; Kinosota/Leifur, Manitoba at the northwest side of Lake Manitoba south of The Narrows and east of Riding Mountain National Park; and along South Saskatchewan River from Empress, Alberta to Lancer Ferry in Saskatchewan.