Red-cockaded Woodpecker

Leuconotopicus borealis

The Red-cockaded Woodpecker is a small to medium-sized woodpecker found in the southeastern United States. It is known for its distinctive black and white plumage with a small red cockade on the side of the male's head. This species is highly specialized, living in mature pine forests and excavating cavities in living pine trees for nesting. It forages for insects on the trunks and branches of pine trees, often in large family groups. Due to habitat loss and fragmentation, the Red-cockaded Woodpecker is considered an endangered species and is the only woodpecker species in North America that excavates nest cavities in living trees.

Habitat: Mature pine forests