Woodpeckers

Our woods are alive with so many colorful birds, but my eye was drawn to two different woodpeckers foraging for their dinner.

The Downy Woodpecker is common to our forests, but can be hard to spot. The males have a bright red splash of color on the top of their head, but the females, like the one pictured, lack the red coloring. At first glance, the black and white pattern may appear to be a bright and obvious, but notice the impact when you see the bird among the bark:

The Red-bellied Woodpecker has a bright red plume covering the bulk of its cap and nape, much more red than the male Downy Woodpecker. The Red-bellied Woodpecker does have a similar black and white pattern in its feathers for the same camouflage.