[desmo-kid]

I got a good look at the belly, could not see any red, and this is supposed to be a little out of range, but I still think she must be a Red-bellied woodpecker. Any dissenting opinions?

[The Falcon]

Yes, that is a female Red-bellied Woodpecker. No other Eastern woodpecker looks like a Red-bellied.

[desmo-kid]

Is red on the underside often difficult or impossible to see? In descriptions I do not see that the red underside is mentioned as being more prominent on males. Is it?

[The Falcon]

Originally Posted by desmo-kid

Is red on the underside often difficult or impossible to see? In descriptions I do not see that the red underside is mentioned as being more prominent on males. Is it?

Yes, sometimes it is hard to see. It is harder to see in photo then in the field though. Sometimes they have such a light red wash it is hard to see even in the field.

[J. Moore]

Originally Posted by desmo-kid

Is red on the underside often difficult or impossible to see? In descriptions I do not see that the red underside is mentioned as being more prominent on males. Is it?

Sibley's eastern guide says "faint wash of red on belly rarely visible". Red-bellied Woodpecker is one of the number of birds with somewhat misleading names. (The "Tennessee Warbler" is another example -- it does not even breed in Tennessee.)

Best,
Jim

[desmo-kid]

Thanks Jim. I am new to all of this, and I only have one field guide, an Audubon. I have quickly realized that there are more desirable guides, but figured I would wait to see what I hear talked about. I hear Sibley's referred to often on this site, and I like that description you quoted, I think I'll have to pick this guide up. You are in the same area, are there a couple of top guides you find are the most accurate and useful for this area?

[The Falcon]

Originally Posted by desmo-kid

Thanks Jim. I am new to all of this, and I only have one field guide, an Audubon. I have quickly realized that there are more desirable guides, but figured I would wait to see what I hear talked about. I hear Sibley's referred to often on this site, and I like that description you quoted, I think I'll have to pick this guide up. You are in the same area, are there a couple of top guides you find are the most accurate and useful for this area?

The best guides for this area are the sibley guides. The "Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America". Which is deferent from the Sibley Guide to North America" which covers all of North America and Canada. The "North American Guide" shows all of the plumages of each bird and don't give that much information on identifying each bird. Where as the regional guide has more text on how to identify each bird and less illustrations. I personally have both guides and recommend buying both guides for a beginning birder.

[lockbreeze926]

As with many birds, the feature chosen to name it is one of the less obvious ones, but they do have somewhat tinted bellies. Here's a Slightly-Pinkish Bellied Woodpecker that's hanging upside down so that the pale wash is visible.

As for field guides, Sibley is as good as/better than any - for portability, get the appropriate east or west guide. The National Geographic is good for continent-wide coverage, while still remaining more or less portable.

[Big Chain]

Originally Posted by lockbreeze926

As with many birds, the feature chosen to name it is one of the less obvious ones, but they do have somewhat tinted bellies. Here's a Slightly-Pinkish Bellied Woodpecker that's hanging upside down so that the pale wash is visible.

As for field guides, Sibley is as good as/better than any - for portability, get the appropriate east or west guide. The National Geographic is good for continent-wide coverage, while still remaining more or less portable.

Just as shown on the photo, I was also lucky enough to the red belly of the Red-Bellied Woodpecker last week. It was feeding on a poison ivy that stuck out of a tree branch.

It appeared that the woodpecker was doing some chin-ups while feeding on the berries. The bird was fully exposed at the end of the tree branch hanging onto the poison ivy vine. And it was a very windy and cold day (first cold waves in NJ this year).

And I got to see the entire belly of the bird (with sun to my back and I had bins) and it was reddish under those fine outer feathers.

[learningtofly]

Hi, isn't it funny how their names paint an entirely different expectation of what a bird should look like?
I think I'm in your same boat..pretty novice at spotting birds. I grew up in Massachusetts and we had loads of woodpeckers of different kinds. I was also surprised to find that this is the red-bellied wp.
Also, I agree it's hard to imagine that one guide may offer better advice than the other, albeit an Audubon guide.
Hey that is a great picture, too!