Red-headed Woodpecker

The Red-headed Woodpecker is an unmistakable medium-sized bird with a crimson red head, neck, and throat, stark white underparts, and striking black-and-white wings and tail. Often called the flying checkerboard, it is one of the few woodpeckers that frequently catches insects in mid-air

Strikingly bicolored with large, clean blocks of jet black and pure white, creating a bold barred or patched wing pattern characteristic of the species

Pennaceous with tightly interlocked barbs and barbules creating a smooth vane, no afterfeather present

Sturdy, dark brown to black central rachis with high-density barbs branching out uniformly at a moderate angle

Smooth, firm, and semi-glossy texture with a rigid vane designed for aerodynamic flight support

Wing secondary flight feather or primary covert, determined by its contrasting stark black and white block pattern typical of the species' wing speculum area

Bold, unblemished blocks of stark white and deep black without intricate fine barring, distinguishing it from other woodpeckers like the Red-bellied Woodpecker

Open deciduous forests, groves of dead trees, orchards, savannahs, and agricultural areas with scattered large trees

Temperate eastern and central North America, breeding from southern Canada south to the Gulf Coast

Acts as a primary cavity excavator creating homes for secondary cavity nesters, and plays an important role in controlling insect populations and dispersing seeds

Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus), which features zebra-striped black-and-white barring on the back and wings rather than large solid blocks of white

Red-headed Woodpeckers are one of the few bird species known to store food, wedging live insects and seeds into crevices in wood, bark, and even fence posts

Historically featured in Native American folklore; like all native North American migratory birds, its feathers are protected and cannot be collected or possessed without federal permits

Look for clean, high-contrast black-and-white pattern blocks from wing feathers found near dead tree stands or forest edges in eastern North America

Good condition, clean margins with intact barbs and no obvious signs of severe wear, fading, or parasitic damage