WOODPECKERS

Pileated Woodpecker (Seen in The Woodlands, TX)

The female has a black forehead,
and her "mustache" is black as well.
(Unless they rediscover the Ivory-billed Woodpecker) this is our largest woodpecker! Note the red mustache & Red forehead -- This is a male. 
Red-headed Woodpecker

 This is one of only four woodpeckers known to store food, and the ONLY one known to cover the food (insects or seed) with wood or back. Grasshoppers are stored alive, but wedged into crevices (roof shingles, fences, under bark) so tightly that they can't escape!

The male and female Red-headed Woodpecker look the same. (Not only will this woodpecker attack other birds to protect territory, but is also know to remove eggs and destroy nests of other species, including duck eggs in duck-nesting boxes.)

Whoa!! What's THAT brown-headed bird?! It's an immature Red-headed Woodpecker, and he (or she) will look like this for half a year!

Red-bellied Woodpecker (Seen in The Woodlands, TX)
Red-bellied Woodpecker, male Red-bellied Woodpecker, female
Red-bellied Woodpecker, female Red-bellied Woodpecker, juvenile
Downy Woodpecker (Seen in The Woodlands, TX)
Downy Woodpecker, female 
The Downy Woodpecker is the smallest woodpecker in North America.		  
Downy Woodpecker, male
(note red on top of head)		 Juvenile (July-August), Both sexes have red on top of their head. Notice how it changes direction and location, should this little one be a male!
Ladderback Woodpecker
Ladder-backed Woodpecker (male)  Ladder-backed Woodpecker (female) - Common in mesquite and cactus territory.
Gold-fronted Woodpecker
Golden-fronted Woodpecker (male) -This bird's range is from extreme SW Oklahoma to Nicaragua, thus most of the U.S. population is in Texas.  It's the southwestern counterpart of the red-bellied woodpecker.   
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Seen in The Woodlands, TX)
The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker is different from other woodpeckers. Instead of drilling for bugs under the bark, this bird drills into the tree in pursuit of the tender cambium layer of the tree, and it laps up the sap that flows.  Thus, unlike the barbed spear-ended tongue of other woodpeckers, this bird's tongue is brushlike. While both sexes (adult) have a red forehead and the black-and-white face pattern, the bird above is a female because of their white throat; the male's is red.

Look for the large white wing-patch -- both sexes have it, and that's the giveaway!

This is the male. Isn't he gorgeous?!

The female is below, for comparison.

 The juvenile Yellow-bellied Sapsucker takes a long time (late winter/March) to get the definitive appearance of the adult. This photo was taken in March, and the colors of a female are just now showing.
 
Red-Cockaded Woodpecker  (PROTECTED - Jones State Forest, just outside The Woodlands)