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Although these urban-tolerant, cavity-nesting insectivores nest widely in the state, they seem quite uncommon, notably in the lowlands of the Mississippi/Red River and Coastal Marsh regions. Although a woodpecker, this species is one of at least eight Louisiana birds that used old nests of the Red-cockaded Woodpecker.
painting by Louis Agassiz Fuertes 1914
female (in nest cavity) and male (right)
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Red-bellies are the most common and widely distributed woodpeckers in Louisiana. These urban-tolerant and cavity-nesting insectivores compete with Red-cockaded Woodpeckers when piney woods become heavily stocked with hardwoods. Like the state's other woodpeckers, the red-belly is least common in the Coastal Marsh Region. This species is named for the tincture of red near the base of an adult's legs.
painting by Louis Agassiz Fuertes 1914
female (left) and male (right)
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These urban-tolerant and cavity-nesting omnivores breed throughout the Pine Region and northern part of the Mississippi/Red River Region, but they generally do not nest in the Atchafalaya River Basin and Coastal Marsh Region. Like flickers, these birds readily adopted abandoned nests of Red-cockaded Woodpeckers. The Red-headed Woodpecker is included on the Audubon WatchList for North America.
painting by Louis Agassiz Fuertes 1914
female or male (upper) and immature (lower)