Red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis)

In the world of North American woodpeckers, red-cockaded woodpeckers stand out as an exception to the usual rules. They are the only woodpeckers to excavate nest and roost sites in living trees. Living in small family groups, red-cockaded woodpeckers are a social species, unlike others. These groups chatter and call throughout the day, using a great variety of vocalizations. And they are one of only two woodpecker species protected by the Endangered Species Act. The other protected woodpecker species, the ivory-billed, had been assumed extinct for decades until sightings on a national wildlife refuge in the Southeast. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with Federal and State agencies and private landowners to keep red-cockaded woodpeckers from sliding to extinction.