Birdwise: Spotlight on the red-headed woodpecker

Birdwise: Spotlight on the red-headed woodpecker

On May 12, Janet and I spotted from our living room an outrageously patterned bird flying onto the ground and back up onto a tree trunk. No camouflage here! Unmistakably, this was a red-headed woodpecker, an uncommon visitor to our area, but definitely one of our most spectacular species. Unlike almost all other woodpeckers, the plumages of male and female red-headed woodpeckers are identical: a completely red head and a blue-black and white pat…