Drawing a line southward through the middle of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and Texas eastward to the Atlantic coast, the range of this woodpecker covers a lot of territory.  And with his brilliant red head and tuxedo-like black and white body, this medium-size woodpecker and his antics are hard to miss. 

Rather than excavating holes in search of insects, the red-head is an airborne hunter.  Similar to the way other flying-insect hunters hunt, during warm weather, the red-head sits perched on a tree limb, watching carefully for his prey to fly by.  Suddenly launching itself into the air in hot pursuit, they snatch their surprised prey in midair, returning to a nearby branch to dine.  Grasshoppers can be stored alive for later dining by wedging them into a crevice where escape is impossible.   At other times, spiders, millipedes, centipedes, earthworms, seeds, nuts, and berries are also on the menu.  The red-headed woodpecker reserves his tree-drumming for attracting mates and defining territory!

* This sculpture is currently available as “bird only”, though a driftwood-replica base, somewhat similar to the real driftwood base it was designed for, is currently underway.