
Red Cockaded Woodpecker
Photo credit:
Marine L. Cpl Hacker
Red Cockaded sounds: FMNH-UF/Hardy
The
Endangered Birds of Florida
The Red Cockaded Woodpecker
Picoides
borealis
To begin: what is a Bird?
A Bird is a warm blooded,
bipedal (two legs)
vertebrate (has a backbone)
with feathers,
bills and wings and most can
fly.
It lays eggs to reproduce and
many theories have
it classified as a direct
descendant of Dinosaurs,
dating back to the Jurassic
period.
The Red Cockaded Woodpecker, so named for
the tiny spot of red on the heads of the males,
is about the size of a Cardinal.

A
Red Cockaded Woodpecker
Photo credit:
Resourceful Communities
It once called nearly the entire Southeast old growth
Pine Forests home, but with the near total demise
of its habitat being diminished by 97%,
the Red Cockaded must now call what remains
of the younger Longleaf Pine Forests home.
It has been on the Federal Endangered
Species List since 1970.
Unlike other Woodpeckers, the Red Cockaded
makes its nest in living Longleaf Pine Trees.

A
Red Cockaded Woodpecker at the Nest
Photo credit:
U.S. FWS/Eric Spadgenske
The Woodpeckers preference for Pine Trees
with Red Heart Fungus are the primary
reason for its predicament.
A Pine Tree must age to acquire this disease,
which makes nest building much easier, but the
number of existing Longleaf Pines that have
both age and the disease
are few.

Male and Female Red Cockaded Woodpeckers
Photo credit:
U.S. FWS/Eric Spadgenske
These Woodpeckers live in groups of a nesting pair,
their current offspring and a few past ones as well.
We have them in the Ocala National Forest
because of the many Longleaf Pines here.
This Woodpecker is omnivorous, an opportunist
who will eat most anything, but prefers insects
and a variety of seeds, fruit and nuts.
Places to learn more:
Animal Diversity Web
Picoides Borealis
Birdlife.Org
Red Cockaded Woodpecker
Cornell
Red Cockaded Woodpecker
EDF
Red Cockaded
Woodpecker
EPA
Safe Harbor Program for Red Cockaded Woodpecker
FWS
Red Cockaded
Woodpecker
FFWCC
Species Spotlight - Red Cockaded
Nature Conservancy
Red
Cockaded Woodpecker
Palmetto-Pear Preserve
Birding
University of Florida
Red Cockaded
Woodpecker
USFWS/Alabama
Red Cockaded
Woodpecker
RCW Alabama Safe
Harbor
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