Woodpeckers (Picidae)

Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) - HBW 7, p. 440

French: Pic à tête rouge German: Rotkopfspecht Spanish: Carpintero Cabecirrojo

Taxonomy: Picus erythrocephalus Linnaeus, 1758, America = South Carolina.
Possibly closer to M. portoricensis and M. herminieri than to M. formicivorus. Slightly longer-winged (more migratory) populations of W Great Plains S & W to C Colorado sometimes separated as race caurinus, supposedly also with slightly deeper yellow wash below; tone of underparts, however, varies greatly among all populations, and subspecific division considered unwarranted. Monotypic.

Distribution: Breeds in extreme S Canada from S Manitoba (L Winnipeg) E to New Brunswick, and in C & E USA from Montana (E of Rocky Mts) across to Atlantic coast, S to C Colorado, C New Mexico, Gulf of Mexico and Florida.