There are birds at your nut feeder with black, white and red.
What are they?
The safe answer is, it’s a woodpecker. Adult males of six of the seven species of woodpeckers in Iowa have some combination of black, white and red, in fact. It might be a red-headed, red-bellied, downy, hairy, pileated woodpecker or yellow-bellied sapsucker. The northern flicker has a little more brown on it to distinguish it from the others.
The pileated woodpecker is not common in northwest Iowa, but it has been spotted in the region. It is the largest woodpecker in Iowa, growing up to 19 inches in length. The downy woodpecker, which looks almost identical to the larger hairy woodpecker, is the smallest at only 6 inches in length.
(Seven waterfowl to look for during migration)
Woodpeckers are interesting creatures with very specialized skills. Check out these fun facts about these amazing birds!
1. They have super long tongues.
Woodpeckers’ tongues are usually about twice the length of their bill so that they can reach for insects inside the holes they peck out. When not in use, the long tongue curls around the back of the head between the skull and the skin.
