Red Head of Winter  

Red-headed Woodpecker

Red-headed Woodpecker

Fairfield, Iowa

We paid homage to the guardian of the forest Aranyani along the bank of Crow Creek at the moment of equinox this morning.

I could feel in the air that Red-headed Woodpeckers must be about. A quick movement up the treetops gave it away. 

Watching us. Living its wild life. Is this not happiness!

The real red head

Sometimes people accidentally assign this woodpecker's name to another North American Woodpecker. Never be fooled. The adult Red-headed Woodpecker has an entirely red head. Like a velvet hood pulled over the entire head. (Juveniles have a brown head, but the other markings are similar to the adults'.)

That other woodpecker, which shall not be mentioned here, has red on the back of the head but not on the front of the face, not on the throat.

— Diane Porter, December 21, 2021