• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2018	Least Concern
2016	Near Threatened	A2bc+3bc+4bc
2012	Near Threatened	A2bc+3bc+4bc
2008	Near Threatened	A2b,c; A3b,c; A4b,c
2004	Near Threatened
2000	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1994	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1988	Lower Risk/Least Concern

Migratory status	full migrant	Forest dependency	medium
Land-mass type	continent	Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	6,840,000 km2	medium
Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding)	4,680,000 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	unknown	medium	estimated	2004
Population trend	decreasing	medium	estimated	1998-2008
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	11%	-	-	-
Generation length	5.2 years	-	-	-

Population justification: The population size has not been quantified, but is estimated to number >10,000 mature individuals.

Trend justification: This species is thought to have undergone a decrease in North America. Taken from long-term trends (Christmas Bird Count data for 1966-2017), data suggest an annual decline of 0.78% (0.26-1.48% annual decline). This would equate to a reduction of 11.51% (4.03-20.79%) over three generations (T. Meehan in litt. 2018).

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Canada	extant	native		yes		yes
Mexico	extant	native
St Pierre and Miquelon (to France)	extant	vagrant				yes
USA	extant	native	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
USA	Allegan State Game Area & Kalamazoo River (Galesburg to Saugatuck)
USA	Cache River SNA
USA	Fort Chaffee
USA	Marais des Cygnes Wildlife Area & National Wildlife Refuge
USA	Shugart/Felsenthal Red-cockaded Woodpecker

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial	Arable Land	suitable	non-breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial	Arable Land	suitable	breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial	Pastureland	suitable	breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial	Pastureland	suitable	non-breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial	Rural Gardens	suitable	non-breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial	Rural Gardens	suitable	breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial	Urban Areas	suitable	non-breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial	Urban Areas	suitable	breeding
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	major	non-breeding
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	major	breeding
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland	suitable	non-breeding
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland	suitable	breeding
Forest	Temperate	major	non-breeding
Forest	Temperate	major	breeding
Grassland	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	suitable	non-breeding
Grassland	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	suitable	breeding
Grassland	Temperate	suitable	non-breeding
Grassland	Temperate	suitable	breeding
Savanna	Dry	suitable	non-breeding
Savanna	Dry	suitable	breeding
Altitude		Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Agro-industry farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Persecution/control	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Unlikely to Return		Minority (<50%)		Unknown		Past Impact
		Stresses Species mortality
Climate change & severe weather	Temperature extremes	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Species disturbance
Human intrusions & disturbance	Work & other activities	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Unknown		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Species disturbance
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Sturnus vulgaris	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Competition
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Problematic native species/diseases - Accipiter striatus	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species mortality
Natural system modifications	Other ecosystem modifications	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Pollution	Agricultural & forestry effluents - Type Unknown/Unrecorded	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Transportation & service corridors	Roads & railroads	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Species mortality

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Red-headed Woodpecker Melanerpes erythrocephalus. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/red-headed-woodpecker-melanerpes-erythrocephalus on 25/11/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 25/11/2024.