northeast-flora-and-fauna

Here's a Red-bellied Woodpecker I met last March. These guys don't seem to be migrators; my field guide says their range is the same in summer and winter. I suspect this means there are still insects to be found in trees all year round, even if they're not necessarily active in winter. As the most common woodpecker in my area with a red head, a fair number of people refer to them as Red-headed Woodpeckers, but that's a different species entirely (and one with an even redder head). Despite looking quite different, the Red-headed Woodpecker is the closest NJ relative to the Red-bellied Woodpecker; they're both in the same genus (Melanerpes). I mentioned recently that the European Starling isn't a terribly popular bird. One reason is that they'll attack native birds like the Red-bellied Woodpecker in order to take over tree cavities that the woodpeckers created since both species are cavity nesters. The starlings are a little bigger bird, but their success a...

Here's a Downy Woodpecker I met a couple months ago. The small red patch at the back of its head indicates this is a male Downy. They are the smallest woodpeckers living in my area. Though they're not especially closely related, the Downy Woodpecker looks very similar to the larger (though not large) Hairy Woodpecker . I read of a theory that says the Downy evolved to resemble the Hairy so it would get more respect from other birds who mistake it for the Hairy. (Hairy Woodpeckers themselves aren't fooled, but the sparrows and finches tell each other: "Don't mess with him - those Hairy Woodpeckers are tough!".) From a distance when it's difficult to judge size, the easiest way to distinguish these woodpeckers by looking at the proportion of the beak to the length of the rest of the head. If they look like they're the same length, it's a Hairy Woodpecker. If the beak is clearly shorter, it's a Downy Woodpecker. March 3, 2021 at the Raritan River...