Red-Headed Woodpecker 2026

(C) Laura Jackson

Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) adults are a bold black-and-white woodpecker with a fully red head. While young birds have a brownish/gray head that turns red as they mature.

In Pennsylvania, Red-headed Woodpeckers are most likely found in open oak woods, wooded edges near fields, and park-like forests where large trees and standing dead wood (snags) remain. They are local rather than widespread, and their presence can change from year to year depending on acorn crops. In warm months they catch many insects such as grasshoppers or beetles (often by flycatching from a perch). In fall and winter, they rely heavily on nuts and seeds—especially acorns—and they are known for caching (storing) food in bark crevices.

Red-headed Woodpeckers have declined across much of their range, including Pennsylvania,

(C) Laura Jackson

and are listed as a species of special concern with a continued decline heading toward a threatened listing. The biggest problem is the loss of the open, oak habitats they use, along with the removal of snags that provide nest cavities. In addition, European starlings often successfully compete for the limited nesting sites, driving away the Red-headed Woodpeckers.

(C) Jeanette Green

Conservation efforts are most successful when landowners, parks, and communities keep the trees and habitat structure these birds need.

• Protect mature oaks and plan for new oaks to replace them over time.

• Leave safe snags and dead limbs (away from buildings/trails) for nesting cavities.

• Maintain open woods with careful thinning; in some places, prescribed fire helps.

• Use fewer broad-spectrum pesticides so insects remain available during breeding season.

• Reduce window strikes by installing screens or Acopian Bird Savers so birds won’t be

killed by flying into windows. (Laura Jackson)