Wolf Run Studio - Birds
Bill Harrah
Wolf Run Studio
P.O. Box 444
Clifton VA 20124

Phone:
(703) 250-6711
Fax:
(703) 764-9204

 

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DRAWING
INDEX

  AMERICAN KESTREL     BALD EAGLE     BARN OWL     BARRED OWL     EASTERN SCREECH OWL     GREAT HORNED OWL     HARRIS' HAWK     OSPREY     PEREGRINE FALCON     RED-TAILED HAWK     SAW-WHET OWL     TAWNY FROGMOUTHS     CHICKADEE     CARDINAL     HUMMINGBIRD     TUFTED TITMOUSE     NUTHATCH     DOWNY WOODPECKER     RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER     CAROLINA WREN     GREAT EGRETS     PELICAN     CANADA GEESE     MUTE SWAN  
. . . BACKYARD BIRDS . . . (Click on an image to see the actual notecard size)
RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER
#WRB-400 Notecards Only

You sometimes can hear a red-bellied woodpecker pecking from a half mile away. It could be drilling into trees for the beetles and insect larvae it uses to supplement its largely vegetarian diet.

Or perhaps it's issuing a mating call and, simultaneously, a warning for other male red-bellies to stay away. If it's already found a mate, it could be working hard in a dead tree, digging out a gourd-shaped nest to accommodate four to six glossy white eggs.

To withstand the shock of this incessant drumming, the red-bellied woodpecker has a thickened skull and membrane surrounding the brain. This noisy bird accompanies its percussive efforts with a diversified repertoire of calls, including chur, cha, chip, chup, yuk and ta-wik — each in a series.

Ironically, the red-bellied woodpecker's red belly patch often is difficult to find, but it does have a bright red cap. This woodpecker also has mostly gray under parts, a zebra-striped back and a white rump. It grows to about 10 inches long.

Once strictly a southeastern bird, the red-bellied woodpecker has extended its range to southern Ontario. Besides thriving in swamp and flood-plain woods, it has taken a liking to feeding stations in gardens. You can attract this woodpecker with suet, peanut butter mix, nutmeats, cracked corn, sunflower seeds and orange sections. When it must fend for itself, it favors acorns, beechnuts, berries, and a modicum of insects. Although red-bellied woodpeckers stow away large quantities of food for future use, many of these birds never return to their hidden treasures.

Text © 2000 Terry White, Drawing © 2000 Bill Harrah

Red-Bellied Woodpecker pencil drawing

Copyright Notice
Drawings Copyright © 1992-2010 Bill Harrah, Wolf Run Studio (SM), All Rights Reserved. Wolf Run Studio is a service mark of Bill Harrah and has been in continuous use since 1992. All of the images on this website are in tangible form and are fully copyrighted. Each has an invisible digital identification which is traceable through the Digimarc Corporation. Viewers of the Wolf Run Studio website are allowed to browse and print out images for personal, non-commercial use only. You may not distribute copies of images or image files to anyone else for any reason. Images may not be reproduced or used in any form or any manner, or displayed on any website without the express written consent of Bill Harrah.

Text Copyright © 1992-2008 Terry White or Dianne Harrah. Text on this website is used with permission from the authors. Viewers of the Wolf Run Studio website are allowed to browse and print out text for personal, non-commercial use only. Text may not be reproduced or used in any form or any manner without the express written consent of the authors.

Information Accuracy
The information for the written description of each bird has been carefully researched by the authors and is believed to be accurate. New scientific observations, however, could make some information out-of-date. If you are a professional ornithologist, and have new information that you are willing to share, please contact Dianne Harrah .