Nature’s palette is vibrant and varied, but there’s something striking about birds with redheads. Their bold coloration makes them stand out, providing a visual treat for bird watchers and casual observers alike.
Whether you’re a seasoned ornithologist or just curious about these feathered wonders, here’s a list of 13 birds with captivating redheads that you should know about.
1. Northern Cardinal: Red Jewel of Backyards
The Northern Cardinal is a showstopper. With its vivid red plumage, the male Northern Cardinal is one of the most recognizable and beloved birds in North America. The female, while more subdued in color, still sports hints of red in her wings and crest.
Found in woodlands, gardens, and backyards, these birds are known for their melodic whistles. Cardinals are also highly territorial and can be seen fiercely defending their space.
According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, these birds are year-round residents, brightening up even the coldest winter days with their striking color and cheerful song. (ref)
2. Red-headed Woodpecker: Bold Tree Drummer
True to its name, the Red-headed Woodpecker boasts a completely red head, contrasting sharply with its black and white body. This medium-sized woodpecker is native to North America and prefers open woodlands and savannas.
Their diet is diverse, ranging from insects and fruits to seeds and nuts. Interestingly, Red-headed Woodpeckers are known to store food in crevices, a behavior not common among many other woodpecker species.
They are also known for their acrobatic flight patterns, often catching insects mid-air.
3. House Finch: Adaptable Songster
House Finches are small, colorful birds found across North America. The males are easily identifiable by their bright red heads and throats, while females are more modestly colored in brown and gray streaks.
These highly adaptable birds thrive in urban, suburban, and rural areas. House Finches primarily feed on seeds, but they also enjoy fruits and buds. Their cheerful chirping can be heard throughout the day, adding a lively soundtrack to any neighborhood.
4. Pileated Woodpecker: The Forest Giant
The Pileated Woodpecker is the largest woodpecker in North America, with a striking red crest that adds to its majestic appearance. These birds are often seen in mature forests where they carve large, rectangular holes in trees to find insects.
Pileated Woodpeckers play a crucial role in their ecosystem, as their excavations create habitats for other wildlife. Their loud, echoing calls and powerful drumming on trees are unmistakable signs of their presence.
5. Acorn Woodpecker: Clown-Faced Hoarder
Acorn Woodpeckers are known for their distinctive appearance and fascinating behavior. With their clown-like faces and bright red caps, they are hard to miss. These birds are native to the oak and pine-oak woodlands of the western United States and Central America.
Their name comes from their habit of storing acorns in granaries, which are usually dead trees or wooden structures filled with thousands of acorn-filled holes. This communal storage system supports their social, cooperative breeding lifestyle, where family groups share the responsibilities of raising young.
6. Scarlet Tanager: The Canopy Jewel
Scarlet Tanagers are a sight to behold, especially during the breeding season when males turn a brilliant scarlet red with contrasting black wings and tails. These songbirds migrate between North and South America, favoring deciduous forests during the summer.
Despite their vibrant colors, Scarlet Tanagers can be surprisingly hard to spot due to their preference for staying high in the forest canopy. Their diet consists mainly of insects and fruit, and they are known for their sweet, burry songs.
7. Red-bellied Woodpecker: The Mismatched Moniker
Despite its name, the red-bellied woodpecker is more easily identified by the bright red cap on its head rather than its faintly reddish belly. These medium-sized woodpeckers are common in the eastern United States, inhabiting forests, woodlands, and suburban areas.
Red-bellied Woodpeckers are versatile feeders. They eat insects, fruits, and nuts and even occasionally visit bird feeders. They are known for their loud calls and strong drumming sounds, which they use to communicate and establish territory.
8. Vermilion Flycatcher: The Desert Flame
The Vermilion Flycatcher is a small bird with an incredibly bright red head and body in males, while females are more subdued with just a hint of red. These birds are found in the southwestern United States, Central America, and parts of South America.
Vermilion Flycatchers prefer open habitats like deserts, savannas, and agricultural areas. They are adept hunters, often seen perched in open areas, darting out to catch insects mid-flight with impressive agility.
9. Pine Grosbeak: The Rosy Winter Visitor
Pine Grosbeaks are large, plump finches. Males sport a rosy red head and body, while females are more muted in yellow and gray tones. These birds are native to boreal forests across North America and Eurasia.
They primarily feed on seeds, buds, and fruits, often flocking together in winter to forage. Pine Grosbeaks are known for their gentle, warbling songs that resonate through the forests, especially during the breeding season.
10. Red Crossbill: The Cone Specialist
Red Crossbills are unique birds with a specialized beak adapted for extracting seeds from conifer cones. Males have a distinctive red plumage, while females are more olive or yellowish in color.
These birds are found in coniferous forests across North America, Europe, and Asia. Red Crossbills are highly nomadic, following the availability of cone crops, and their call notes vary regionally, almost like dialects.
11. Western Tanager: The Fire-Headed Beauty
Western Tanagers are striking birds, with males showcasing a fiery red head, yellow body, and black wings. These songbirds breed in the western parts of North America, favoring coniferous and mixed woodlands.
Western tanagers mainly eat insects and fruit. They are known for their melodic songs and are often seen flitting about high in the tree canopy, adding splashes of color to the green foliage.
12. Summer Tanager: The All-Red Insect Catcher
The Summer Tanager is a medium-sized songbird. Males display an all-over red coloration, making them quite eye-catching. Females, in contrast, are a warm yellow-green. These birds are found in the southern United States during the breeding season and migrate to Central and South America for the winter.
Summer Tanagers are adept at catching insects mid-air, particularly bees and wasps, which they skillfully beat against branches before consuming. Their sweet, melodious songs are a common sound in their preferred habitats of open woodlands and forest edges.
13. Red-headed Vulture: A Regal Scavenger
The Red-headed Vulture, also known as the Asian King Vulture, is a large bird of prey with a striking red head and neck. These vultures are found in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, where they prefer open landscapes and forests.
Red-headed Vultures play a vital ecological role by scavenging and cleaning up carrion, which helps prevent the spread of disease. Despite their importance, they are critically endangered due to habitat loss and poisoning from ingesting toxins in animal carcasses.
Birds with red heads are a testament to the beauty and diversity of avian life. Whether you’re watching them in your backyard or on a nature hike, these feathered wonders are sure to leave a lasting impression.
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Nancy has been a plant person from an early age. That interest blossomed into a bachelor’s in biology from Elmira College and a master’s degree in horticulture and communications from the University of Kentucky. Nancy worked in plant taxonomy at the University of Florida and the L. H. Bailey Hortorium at Cornell University, and wrote and edited gardening books at Rodale Press in Emmaus, PA. Her interests are plant identification, gardening, hiking, and reading.