Why do so many people see this delightful bird and think it must be a Red-headed Woodpecker? Because it has a red head, right?! But lots of woodpeckers have red on their heads – see similar species on All About Birds.
As eBird will tell you, the Red-bellied Woodpecker “is not well-named; rarely is the slight red wash on the belly visible!”Ā (ebird.org). This male’s red belly is well-hidden by the Spanish moss and the branch he’s clinging to.
According to the American Bird Conservancy, there are over 20 species of woodpeckers in North America, but the Red-bellied is almost exclusively seen only from the plains states to the east coast (WhatBird). To hear and read more about the charming Red-bellied Woodpecker, check out this episode of Bird Note!
Birder's Journey 
Oh, it’s a handsome woodpecker! I hope I get to see one someday. Gorgeous image.
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Thanks so much, Deborah. These little beauties are so ubiquitous here in Florida that I forget not everyone out west has the pleasure š. Hope you see one in the wild sometime in the future!
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Me too! š
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Awesome! I never knew this. Interesting how each species gets its official name, even though people might be misled. Any other examples like that?
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It is fascinating how birds have been named over the years, and how their names are changed from time to time. I believe one of my fellow bloggers below comments on that very question of mis-matched names.
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I remember thinking this species had to be a Red-headed Woodpecker, until I actually saw a Red-headed Woodpecker that is distinctly different from the Red-bellied Woodpecker. I have given up trying to figure out the illogical names of some species–when in doubt, I like to make up my own names. š
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Agreed, Mike. I think once a person sees how thoroughly crimson red the Red-headed Woodpecker’s ENTIRE head it, they’ll always remember!
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š
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I’ve been saying for years that some North American species were named by colour blind naturalists. Red-breasted Nuthatch, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and Purple Finch are some more.
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Yes, thanks David! Those are great examples of birds whose names don’t really seem to match their actual coloring. Granted, the Red-bellied actually does have a pale red belly – though it’s usually obscured by whatever the bird is climbing on.
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This is a wonderful photo and celebration of the red-bellied woodpecker, BJ, a bird we don’t see on the west coast.
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Thanks so much for your visit and your kind words, Jet!
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I’ve always thought it should be called the Red-Necked Woodpecker.
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Now that’s an interesting thought. Do you see these in your area?
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Yes, fairly common in our back yard.
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Near Lake Michigan, right? The more I think about your suggestion, the more apt I see that it is āŗļø
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Great photo!
I heard once that the reason so many birds have names based on traits you can’t see while birding (sharp-shinned hawk immediately comes to mine) is that ornithologists named them from specimens in the lab — dead birds lying on their backs. You have to wonder where their common sense was.
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Now that’s a fascinating fact. Thanks Amy! I recently heard an Audubon speaker at a conference say that we should really just call birds by whatever name we feel fits them best,
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One of my favorite birds. Nice shot. š
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Thank you, Kathy! I’ve seen these charming Woodpeckers in posts on your beautiful blog!
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Sometimes it happens that the most obvious characteristic of a bird has been previously used and has to be accommodated to fit all other names. It happens to us when you want to subscribe on an Internet list and the as for your name, you write it and they say your name had been used already. So you have to make certain changes in order to get on with it. It hasn’t happen to you?
Lovely photo, Carol. š
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Good point, HJ – that certainly does happen more often now than ever, I imagine. Thanks so much for your visit and for sharing your thoughts, as always!
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He is very abundant in south Florida. Almost too much so,
but always a beautiful sight to see, what a lovely bird!
Wonderful photo
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I feel the same way – he never seems ordinary! Thank you, Eddie!
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Hi might deserve a better name, but that doesn’t detract from his beauty at all!
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I quite agree – and I think itās a sort of unassuming beauty āŗļø
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As you said, like most people, I wouldn’t have known this isn’t a red-headed woodpecker. What’s confusing to people who haven’t devoted time to looking at birdsāand probably to some who haveāis that members of a species can have a bunch of appearances that depend on age, sex, and breeding.
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So true, Steve. Iāve often heard bird experts comment that coloring is one of the least reliable markers to look at in bird identification.
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I have so many Red-bellies presently around me, I know their call so well! I love your shot with the airplant moss, nice!
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This was up in Lakeland at Circle B Bar Ranch, Donna. Our second 2-day visit there in a month! The trees everywhere are draped in this moss – such a beautiful place.
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What a lovely images of this beauty, regardless of well-named or not š
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Thank you so much Anita!
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Yeah, I often hear folks misidentifying this one. I’ve always gone under the assumption the Red-headed Woodpecker was named first leaving the labelers to come up with something else for this one. Causes confusion, but at least both species are beautiful birds. š
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Youāre probably exactly right on that, Todd, especially in this case. HJ also said something similar above.
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