Red-bellied Woodpecker
Melanerpes carolinus · Woodpeckers
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Central Park, 21 September 2025
A Red-bellied Woodpecker wedged into a fork in the bark in Central Park in September, a woodpecker of the eastern woodlands that has spread north into New York within living memory and now lives in every park in the city, all year.
The red that gives the species its name is barely visible in the field, a faint wash low on the belly, while the red cap and nape that actually catch the eye don't feature in the name at all. The tongue is the thing: it extends nearly two inches past the bill, barbed and sticky, and wraps around the back of the skull when retracted.
Birds, insects, plants and other wildlife, mostly from Brooklyn, with some from further afield.
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