The red-bellied woodpecker is the familiar zebra-backed woodpecker of eastern woodlands and towns. Monotypic (or up to 4 weakly defined ssp. sometimes recognized). Length 9". All red-bellied ...

And then there’s the ambiguous red belly—a hard-to-see, faint crimson color on their undersides. This makes many bird-watchers wonder if the person who named this woodpecker was seeing things.

Kevin Tungesvick is a lifelong resident of Madison County. An avid naturalist and self-taught botanist, Kevin is author of a ...

The back shows 2 rows of whitish or yellow-buff spots or bars, but this patterning is very limited in northern birds. Adult: red head and breast, pale yellow belly, back black with geographically ...