Red-cockaded Woodpecker

Latin name Picoides borealis
Considered an 'indicator species' of the health of endangered longleaf pine ecosystem.
Small woodpecker, slightly larger than a bluebird.
It has a black head with large white patches on its cheek.
Numerous white spots in horizontal rows on back give it a 'ladder-like' appearance.
Males and females look alike, except the adult male has a small tuft of red feathers above his cheek. ↓↓

Endangered Species Branch

Phone:
(910) 3962544

Location:

0-9125 McKellars Road

Fort Liberty, NC 28310

Hours of Operation:

0800-430 M-F

Primary threat is lack of old longleaf pine trees.
Another threat is lack of fire. Fire removes woody plants, like oaks, leaving open pine forests.
Fort Liberty paints trees used by the woodpecker with two white bands or one green band. A protective 200-ft buffer marked with signs surrounds some clusters of cavity trees; human activity is limited within these sites.

Prefer open longleaf pine forests with trees at least 80 years old.
Current populations are found in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia.
Fort Liberty and surrounding lands are home to one of the largest populations in the world.
Only animal that excavates cavities in old, living pine trees. Abandoned cavities provide shelter for numerous species, i.e., wood duck, fox squirrel, American Kestrel, bats, etc... ↓