Why call this a red-bellied woodpecker when it's most striking feature is that red stripe on it's head? Well, the name red-headed woodpecker was already taken, and this one does have red feathers on it's belly. See the pictures below for some less-common poses in which the belly is exposed. 
I took all these photos in our yard but they are not all the same bird. Look at the forehead! The forehead on the male is red but not on the female. (I'm not an expert; I looked it up on AllAboutBirds.org.)They're both beautiful, aren't they?
I really like woodpeckers in general. We occasionally get a red bellied woodpecker, more frequently we get downy and sometimes hairy woodpeckers. I always thought the red bellies should actually be called redneck woodpeckers.
ReplyDeletevery much so. i like these birds, alot. :)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful shots of the Redbelly woodie. I love all the woodpeckers. Have a happy weekend!
ReplyDeleteSo neat to see the woodpecker this close. You got some great shots.
ReplyDeleteI used to try to get pictures of the woodpeckers around our old place. Everytime I would open the door, they would fly. You do a GREAT job.
ReplyDeleteGreat photos! I guess I never realized there were some with red bellies. I thought they just had red heads!
ReplyDeleteThey are both very beautiful. I used to sit with my book and watch all the birds coming and going. At one point, I could name them all.
ReplyDeleteYou did a good job of showing the red bellies of this woodpecker. We have a Red Bellied Woodpecker that comes to our feeders on a regular basis as well.
ReplyDeleteLovely captures!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.
And thanks for visiting one month ago. Sorry for being late to visit you!
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Have a nice weekend****
Great bird snaps here.
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