DESCRIPTION
The Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Picoides borealis) is
throughout
the Southeastern US. it is restricted to mature pine woods that
contain trees
whose heartwood has been softened by fungus, where the bird digs
its nest cavity.
Much less noisy and conspicuous than other woodpeckers and
therefore seldom
noticed, it travels in family groups of four to six. This
woodpecker also has
the peculiar trait of digging holes in trees adjacent to its nest,
allowing
pine gum or resin to ooze from the holes. Such signs of pitch may
be evidence
of its presence.
ENDANGERED STATUS
The Red-cockaded Woodpecker is on the U.S. Endangered Species List.
It is classified
as endangered throughout its range in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida,
Georgia, Kentucky,
Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina,
Tennessee,
Texas, and Virginia. This species needs old-growth pines for its
habitat, and
in the 1800s great stands of these trees were felled across the
Southeast for
lumber. The 20th century saw the development of renewable forestry
techniques,
and there are now many pinelands, but most of them grow in rows and
lack the
diversity of the former forests. The Red-cockaded Woodpecker
requires trees
that are a minimum of 80 to 120 years old, and it will be a long
while before
it is known whether it will recover.