located between the black crown and white cheek patch on the head.
Red-cockaded woodpeckers are relatively small; adults measure 20 to 23 cm (7.8 to 9 inches) and weigh 40 to 55 g (1.4 to 1.9 ounces) (Jackson 1994; Conner et al. 2001). They are smaller than other southern woodpeckers except the downy woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) and are similar in size to yellow-bellied sapsuckers (Sphyrapicus varius). Red-cockaded woodpecker size varies geographically, with larger birds to the north (Mengel and Jackson 1977).
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| Red Cockaded Woodpecker |
Red-cockaded woodpeckers are relatively slender, long-tailed and small-billed woodpeckers. They are black and white with a coarsely barred back, white cheek patch and black crown. Their breasts and bellies are white to grayish-white with spots on the sides changing to bars on the flanks. Outer tail feathers are white with black barring and central tail feathers are black. Adult plumage is extremely similar between sexes and generally indistinguishable in the field. The only difference between adult males and females is the presence of the red cockade at the upper edge of the white auriculars, which is virtually invisible in field situations (Jackson 1994).
Juveniles appear similar to adults but may be distinguished in the field by duller plumage, white flecks often present just above the bill on the forehead and diffuse black shading in the white cheek patch. Juvenile males have a distinctive red patch on the crown and may be distinguished from juvenile females in this way (Jackson 1994).
Status
The red cockaded woodpecker was among the first species to be listed as endangered in 1970 and received federal protection under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. The red-cockaded woodpecker was once a common bird. However, by 1970, the species had declined to fewer than
10,000 individuals in widely scattered, isolated and declining populations (Jackson 1971; Ligon et al. 1986). The red-cockaded woodpecker is listed with 12 other avian species as a species of highest concern on the Partners in Flight watch list (Partners in Flight).
Most populations of redcockaded woodpeckers are currently stable to increasing, due to advances in knowledge of red-cockaded woodpecker population dynamics and the use of highly effective management tools, such as artificial cavities and translocations. However, population viability is still threatened by the small, scattered and isolated nature of most red-cockaded woodpecker populations. Downlisting of the species is not expected until at least 2050 and delisting is not expected until 2075 given current population status and expected rates of growth (USFWS 2003). The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources Heritage Trust program describes the species as imperiled state-wide because of rarity or factor(s) making it vulnerable (S2) while globally the species is ranked as vulnerable (G3).
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| Red-cockaded Woodpecker-Picoides borealis |
POPULATION DISTRIBUTION AND SIZE
Red-cockaded woodpeckers are monitored based on the number of groups (a breeding pair with
0 to 7 helpers) and the clusters on which they depend (the actual physical cavity trees and acreage surrounding those trees). In 2000, there were an estimated 14,068 red-cockaded woodpeckers living in 5,627 known active clusters across eleven states; this number represents only 3 percent of the estimated red-cockaded woodpecker abundance at the time of European settlement. In South Carolina, there were 133 groups on state-owned lands and another 524 groups on federal properties in 2000 (USFWS 2003). In addition, there were estimated to be another 400 groups on private lands in South Carolina (Cely and Ferral 1995). Based on these numbers, there were over 1,000 red-cockaded woodpecker groups in 2000 representing nearly 20 percent of all known red-cockaded woodpecker groups.
Populations of redcockaded woodpeckers are distributed across the southeastern United States and managed by distinct recovery units, across which recovery criteria must be met for the species to be
removed from the Endangered Species List. In South Carolina, there are recovery populations in 3 of the 13 recovery units. These recovery units are the Sandhills Recovery Unit, the Mid-Atlantic Coastal
Plain Recovery Unit and the South Atlantic Coastal Plain Recovery Unit.
HABITAT AND NATURAL COMMUNITY
Red-cockaded woodpeckers depend on open, park-like mature pine woodlands and savannahs with large old pines for nesting and foraging habitat. Large old pines are required because these birds excavate roost and nest cavities in living pine trees. The cavities are excavated completely within the heartwood; therefore, the trees must be old and large enough to have room for the cavity chamber. Additionally, old trees are more likely to have heartwood decay, which greatly facilitates cavity excavation.
The cavity trees must be in open stands with little or no hardwood midstory and little or no hardwood in the canopy. Once the midstory reaches cavity height, redcockaded woodpeckers typically abandon the cluster. Red-cockaded woodpeckers will use nearly all of the southern yellow pines for cavity trees, including loblolly pine (Pinus taeda), shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata), pond pine (Pinus serotina), slash pine (Pinus elliottii) and longleaf pine (Pinus palustris), but prefer longleaf pine.
Red-cockaded woodpeckers have very large foraging territories requiring vast areas of open pine habitat. Suitable foraging habitat consists of large mature pines, little or no midstory and abundant herbaceous ground cover including native bunchgrasses and forbs. Red-cockaded woodpeckers require 30 to 81 contiguous hectares (75 to 200 acres) of this foraging habitat, depending on the habitat quality. Red-cockaded woodpeckers prefer to forage on mature longleaf pine trees, but will forage on younger trees and other pine species and the occasional hardwood tree. High quality foraging habitat that results in the highest red-cockaded woodpecker productivity is contiguous open stands of mature longleaf pine with an herbaceous ground cover.
Red-cockaded woodpeckers evolved in a fire-dominated ecosystem. The history of fire in the southeast has both natural and human components. Fires were ignited naturally due to frequent
lightning strikes. Both Native Americans and European settlers used fire to clear land and improve hunting grounds. Frequent fires resulted in an open forest with large pines, little to no midstory and diverse herbaceous ground cover; this represents the ideal habitat for red-cockaded woodpeckers and other species of the longleaf pine ecosystem.
However, much of the currently available habitat has been subjected to fire suppression and has become unsuitable for redcockaded woodpecker use due to the presence of a dense hardwood midstory and/or canopy. Fire is essential to maintaining and restoring southern pine ecosystems, particularly the longleaf pine ecosystem, and is essential to red-cockaded woodpecker habitat maintenance and restoration.
Red-cockaded Woodpecker--Picoides borealis
