Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)

This common woodpecker of eastern North American woodlands has been expanding its range northward in recent decades. The red belly which gives this bird its name is usually hard to see, but this photo of a female shows it fairly well. Presumably this bird was named by people looking at museum specimens where the red belly stands out on dead birds lying on their backs in museum trays. This species may form a superspecies with the Golden-fronted Woodpecker but the relationship is somewhat murky with some hybridization in the contact zone.