Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus)

Red-headed Woodepecker [lateral view of adult]: Photograph Credit: Stephen J. Stedman; Smith County, Tennessee; 19 June 2015.

Abundance: Uncommon during most seasons to Very Uncommon during seasons of low mast production (see also Remarks [below]); possibly more common at all seasons at favored sites on the Cumberland Plateau than at sites of lower elevation; population density usually low and naturally fluctuating to a high degree at the local level both during winter (LINK to Regional CBC data) and during the early part of the breeding season (LINK to Regional Spring Bird Count data); recorded in all Regional counties (Map of UCR Distribution); this woodpecker is not easily monitored by the Regional bird-monitoring efforts (LINK to Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).

Status: Permanent Resident; specimen (11 June 1938;  Monticello, Wayne County, Kentucky; W. M. Perrygo; Wetmore 1940); photograph (see above).

Regional High Count and SBC High Count: 75 (7–8 May 1966; Cumberland County, Tennessee [SBC]; m. ob.; Note: a 2-day survey); CBC/CBB High Count: 42 (2 January 1972; Barren County, Kentucky [Glasgow CBC]; m. ob.); FBC/FBB High Count: 34 (25 September 2010; DeKalb County, Tennessee [FBB]; m. ob.).

Breeding: Confirmed (Recent).  Competition with European Starling for nest cavities is a factor of unknown, but possibly great, significance Regionally during the breeding season. Snags in shrub-scrub fields or in early successional forests, as well as in shallow ponds, favored as nesting (and roosting) sites.

Habitat: Oak-hickory forests play an important role in supplying food resources to this woodpecker during winter.  

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: Registered on 1 (of 125) monthly check-list during 2003 and on 11 (of 206) check-lists during 2004, results that confirm the variability of this species' population numbers from year to year in the Region.

Foray Results: A summary of data from UCR Forays follows (to view a map displaying foray data for a county or a sub-Region for this species, click on the name of an underlined county or state below):

* Because some foray blocks fall into two or three counties, the total of blocks in the Kentucky or Tennessee portions of the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the counties of each portion of the Region; similarly, because some blocks fall into both states, the total of blocks for the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the two states.

Remarks: Prone to nomadic wandering or migration just prior to winters of poor mast production at breeding sites; following winters of low mast production sometimes does not return to breeding sites in the same population density as had been present during the breeding season prior to the winter with low mast production; may even be absent from former breeding sites following such winters.

Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.

Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.

Literature Cited