Red - Cockaded
Woodpeckers in North CarolinaPicoides borealis
NEW! - Foraging_Habitat_Standards_Guidance.pdf (980 kb download)
Red Cockaded Woodpecker Recovery Page at http://rcwrecovery.fws.gov
STATUS: Endangered
DESCRIPTION: The red-cockaded woodpecker is 18 to 20
centimeters long
with a wing span of 35 to 38 centimeters. There are black and white
horizontal
stripes on its back, and its cheeks and underparts are white. Its
flanks
are black streaked. The cap and stripe on the side of the neck and the
throat are black. The male has a small red spot on each side of the
black
cap. After the first post fledgling molt, fledgling males have a red
crown
patch. This woodpecker's diet is composed mainly of insects which
include
ants, beetles, wood-boring insects, caterpillars, and corn ear worms if
available. About 16 to 18 percent of the diet includes seasonal wild
fruit.
REPRODUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT: Egg laying occurs during
April, May, and
June with the female utilizing her mate's roosting cavity for a nest.
Maximum
clutch size is seven eggs with the average being three to five eggs.
From
egg laying to fledging requires about 38 days, and then another several
weeks are needed before the young become completely independent. Most
often,
the parent birds and some of their male offspring from previous years
form
a family unit called a group. A group may include one breeding pair and
as many as seven other birds. Commonly, these groups are comprised of
three
to five birds. Rearing the young birds becomes a shared responsibility
of the group. However, a single pair can breed successfully without the
benefit of the helpers.
RANGE AND POPULATION LEVEL: This bird's range is closely
tied to the
distribution of southern pines. Historically, the red-cockaded
woodpecker
occurred from East Texas and Oklahoma, to Florida, and North to New
Jersey.
The present distribution is similar, except the species has been
extirpated
from Missouri, Maryland, and New Jersey.
HABITAT: For nesting/roosting habitat, open stands of pine
containing trees 60 years old and older. Red-cockaded woodpeckers need
live, large older pines in which to excavate their cavities. Longleaf
pines
(Pinus palustris) are most commonly used, but other species of
southern
pine are also acceptable. Dense stands (stands that are primarily
hardwoods,
or that have a dense hardwood understory) are avoided. Foraging habitat
is provided in pine and pine hardwood stands 30 years old or older with
foraging preference for pine trees 10 inches or larger in diameter. In
good, moderately-stocked, pine habitat, sufficient foraging substrate
can be
provided on 80 to 125 acres.
Roosting cavities are excavated in living pines, and usually
in those
which are infected with a fungus producing what is known as red-heart
disease.
Cavity tree ages range from 63 to 300 plus years for longleaf, and
62 to 200 plus years for loblolly (Pinus taeda) and other pines.
The aggregate of cavity
trees is called a cluster and may include 1 to 20 or more cavity trees
on 3 to 60 acres. The average cluster is about 10 acres. Completed
cavities
in active use have numerous, small resin wells which exude sap. The
birds
keep the sap flowing apparently as a cavity defense mechanism against
rat
snakes and possibly other predators. The territory for a group averages
about 200 acres, but observers have reported territories running from a
low of around 60 acres, to an upper extreme of more than 600 acres. The
expanse of territories is related to both habitat quality and
population
density.
Species Distribution from known occurrences. Species may occur in similar habitats in other counties.Green counties indicate observed within 20 years. Yellow counties indicate an obscure data reference to the species in the county. Red counties indicate observed more than 20 years ago.
For additional information regarding this Web page, contact John Hammond, in Raleigh, NC, at john_hammond@fws.gov
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