The plumage of a bird is one of its most striking features. Often, among several colorations, we get to see birds that are Black, White, and Red or those that have a red head and black and white body, but due to lack of enough information, we fail to identify them. To help you guys with it, we bring to you our today’s article, the list of 20 Black, White, and Red Birds That Are Strikingly Beautiful (With Pictures). So without much ado, let’s get things rolling.
20 Black, White, and Red Birds That Are Strikingly Beautiful
1. Yellow Bellied Sapsucker
| Scientific Name | Sphyrapicus varius |
| Size | 19-21 centimeters |
| Diet | Fruits, tree sap, spiders, centipedes etc. |
| Life Span | 6-7 years |
| Geographic Location | Canada, northeasters USA, Alaska |
The first bird in this list of Black, White, and Red Birds is the Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker. These are woodpeckers of medium size with a red forehead which is bright red in males and a paler red in females.
The wings are black and white, with a black patch in the chest and white underparts. Yellow Bellied sapsuckers inhabit the deciduous and coniferous forests at elevations of up to 6,000 feet.
Libby Natola, a zoologist, says that these birds are also called “morse code” birds due to their rhythmic tapping sounds.
2. Tricolored Blackbird
| Scientific Name | Agelaius tricolor |
| Size | 7-9 inches |
| Diet | Insects like caterpillars, grasshoppers, and grains from farmlands |
| Life Span | 13 years |
| Geographic Location | North America |
Amid the Central Valley of California, the Tricolored Blackbird, a blackbird with red and white shoulder patches, settles in farmlands and wetlands.
Males of this species are gregarious and boisterous, displaying their beautiful red shoulders, along with a white lien and a chattering, almost cat-like voice.
Due to widespread wetland degradation and agricultural operations in the farm fields where they now nest, the number of Tricolored blackbirds is falling.
3. Pileated woodpeckers
| Scientific Name | Dryocopus pileatus |
| Size | 16-19 inches |
| Diet | Beetles, ants that live on trees like carpenter ants |
| Life Span | Up to 12 years |
| Geographic Location | Canada, Eastern USA |
The next bird on our list of Black, White, and Red Birds is the Pileated Woodpeckers. The crest or the head is bright red, while the throat features black stripes from the beak.
Almost the full body is black, while the white region is restricted to only the throat and shoulder regions. These species show sexual dimorphism, with the males exhibiting a red forehead while the females show a black one.
4. Rose-breasted Grosbeak
| Scientific Name | Pheucticus ludovicianus |
| Size | 7-8 inches |
| Diet | Invertebrates like insects, snails, fruits and berries |
| Life Span | Up to 12 years |
| Geographic Location | North America |
The Rose-breasted Grosbeak male is breathtakingly attractive. The red band across their breast gives them a dreadful folklore name, “cut-throat.”
Rose-Breasted Grosebeaks display a high sexual dimorphism, as the plumage is quite different between the males and the females. The head and the wings are jet-black, while the belly is white, with a bright red patch in the chest region.
5. Red Headed Woodpecker
| Scientific Name | Melanerpes erythrocephalus |
| Size | 21-25 centimeters |
| Diet | Omnivorous diet consisting of insects like ants, fruits, eggs, and seeds |
| Life Span | Up to 8 years |
| Geographic Location | North America |
The next bird on this list is a bird with a red head and black and white body the Red Headed Woodpecker. Adult woodpeckers have a large head with bright red plumage, while the wings are dark black.
The wings also additionally display a white patch, along with an unstreaked breast and underparts. The beak acts like a chisel to drill holes into trees to build nests or eat ants.
6. Pine Grosbeak
| Scientific Name | Pinicola enucleator |
| Size | 20-25 centimeter |
| Diet | Berries, seeds, insects, wild fruits |
| Life Span | Up to 9 years |
| Geographic Location | Alaska, Canada, Mountains of western USA |
Pine Grosbeaks show sexual dimorphism, and it’s the males that we are considering for this list of small black and red birds.
When adult, the males have heads with rose-red plumage, along with black wings with some white stripes. Currently, the IUCN lists it as a species of the least concern.
7. Red-bellied Woodpecker
| Scientific Name | Melanerpes carolinus |
| Size | 22-26 centimeters |
| Diet | Seeds, nuts like hazelnuts, fruits, insects like the Jewel Beetles |
| Life Span | 12 years |
| Geographic Location | Eastern USA |
The Red-Bellied Woodpecker gets its name from its reddish underparts near its belly. Males have a red capping that extends down to the neck, while females have only a red patch at their nape.
The wings display a barred pattern of black and white. Red-bellied woodpeckers become quite aggressive when it comes to their nest and hatchlings and defend them aggressively against any predator.
8. Red-capped Cardinal
| Scientific Name | Paroaria gularis |
| Size | 16 centimeter |
| Diet | Insects, fruits |
| Life Span | Up to 6 years in the wild |
| Geographic Location | South America |
The following bird in our list of Black, White, and Red Birds is a tiny, brightly colored tanager that lives in the foliage near lakes and rivers. Black and white feathers and a brilliant red head make red-capped cardinals easily noticeable.
These gregarious birds frequently graze in pairs or groups when foraging low in foliage by the lake and perch a lot on tree branches that are above the water.
9. Red-capped Robin
| ScientificName | Petroica goodenovii |
| Size | 10.5 -12.5 centimeter |
| Diet | Insects like beetles, ants, locusts, dragonflies, etc. |
| Life Span | Up to 5.5 years |
| Geographic Location | Across Australia, except in a few regions like Kimberley, Cape York, etc. |
Like many other birds on this list, it’s the plumage of the Red-capped Robin’s males that bring them up here. The male Red-capped Robin is predominantly black in the upper regions and white in the sides and underparts, with a unique scarlet-crimson cap and a red breast that stands out vividly against a black throat.
White bars can be seen on the black wings, and the tail has black margins. Besides, being the smallest of the red robins has made them prey to multiple bird species and even feral cats.
10. Scarlet Robin
| Scientific Name | Petroica boodang |
| Size | 12-13 centimeters |
| Diet | Mostly arthropods like insects, and also spiders |
| Life Span | 1-2 years |
| Geographic Location | Australia, Tasmania |
Scarlet Robins show sexual dimorphism, and the males show one of the most striking plumages. The head, neck, and beak are pitch glossy black, with a sharply contrasting white patch on the forehead.
The beast is bright scarlet, while the black wings have white panels on the edges. It mainly inhabits those forests where eucalyptus is found in abundance.
11. White-capped Tanager
| Scientific Name | Sericossypha albocristata |
| Size | 24 centimeter |
| Diet | Seeds, fruits, beetles, ants, wasps, sawflies, etc. |
| Life Span | 4-8 years |
| Geographic Location | South America |
Difficult to misidentify, the White-capped Tanager is a big, raucous, stunning bird of the tanager family and is also its heaviest member. The throat has a satin-red plumage and iridescent steely-blue wings that rest above a dark, black body.
The name’s white cap, which glistens like snow in the sun, is the most noticeable feature. There is no sexual dimorphism, but females exhibit a paler throat than males. These tanager flocks move in close formation while feeding from one tree to the other.
12. Mistletoe Bird
| Scientific Name | Dicaeum hirundinaceum |
| Size | 9-10 centimeters |
| Diet | Mistletoe berries and arthropods |
| Life Span | Up to 9 years |
| Geographic Location | Australia |
The 12th bird in this list that has Birds that are Black and Red is the Mistletoe bird, also known as the Mistletoe flowerpecker. Like many other birds, Mistletoes, too, show sexual dimorphism, with males being the brightly colored ones.
The head is glossy, with a blue-black coloration, while the throat and the chest region are bright red, along with the undertail. The abdomen and underparts are white but have a central black stripe. They mainly inhabit the Eucalyptus abundant woodlands.
13. Jabiru
| Scientific Name | Jabiru mycteria |
| Size | 140 centimeters long |
| Diet | Frogs, snakes, snails, fish, carrion etc. |
| Life Span | Up to 36 years |
| Geographic Location | Central and South America |
Jabirus are large birds that belong to the stork family and show the highest sexual dimorphism than any other stork species. The tallest birds in South America, Jabirus have a black featherless head and neck, with white plumage covering the rest of the body.
At the base of the neck, a vibrant red pouch serves to be the identifying feature of this bird. The IUCN currently lists this species as the Least Concern.
14. Acorn Woodpecker
| Scientific Name | Melanerpes formicivorus |
| Size | 20-23 centimeters |
| Diet | Acorns, fruits, tree sap, insects |
| Life Span | 14 to 17 years |
| Geographic Location | California, Central America, Colombia, Southwestern USA |
Acorn Woodpeckers display quite a distinct facial pattern, which helps immensely in their identification. The face, above the eyes, is black, while below it is white.
Males, especially, have a vibrant red crown, along with black and white stripes chest and paler underparts. Though the IUCN lists Acorn Woodpeckers among the species of least concern, loss of habitat has affected this species significantly.
15. Red Crested Cardinal
| Scientific Name | Paroaria coronata |
| Size | 7.5 inches |
| Diet | Seeds, arthropods, insects |
| Life Span | Up to 6 years in the wild |
| Geographic Location | Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia |
Another bird with a Redhead and black and white body is the Red Crested Cardinal Jay. As the name suggests, these birds have a characteristic red crest that rises when the animal is excited.
The head and the throat are bright red, and the wings are black to dark grey. The remains of the body, like the belly, is white. As of now, it is a species of Least Concern due to its ample population.
16. Ladder Backed Woodpecker
| Scientific Name | Dryobates scalaris |
| Size | 6.5-7.5 inches |
| Diet | Insects, larva, cactus fruits |
| Life Span | 5 years |
| Geographic Location | Southwestern USA, Mexico |
A common bird in the arid bushy regions of the USA, the Ladder Backed Woodpecker has a creamy wash over its body, especially on the chest and underparts.
The alternating black and white bars on the wings and rump give a ladder-like appearance. The face is white with back stripes, along with a bright red crest. It is currently regarded as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN.
17. Painted Redstart
| Scientific Name | Myioborus pictus |
| Size | 5.1-5.9 inches |
| Diet | majorly insects |
| Life Span | up to 6 years |
| Geographic Location | Inland Central America |
One of the largest warbler species, the Painted redstart is the 17th member of this list of Black, white, and red birds. The lower parts, especially the chest, and the throat is bright red, with the head and the rump being glossy black.
The wings are partly black, with the edges having white stripes. A distinguished feature of this bird species is that both the males and females sing together during courtship, a feature quite unlikely amongst other bird species.
18. Red-Breasted Sapsucker
| Scientific Name | Sphyrapicus ruber |
| Size | 8 inches |
| Diet | Tree sap, insects |
| Life Span | 3 years |
| Geographic Location | West coast of North America |
Red Breasted Sapsuckers get their name from their red heads and breasts, followed by mottled black and white wings with whitish, black-streaked underparts.
These birds are mostly found in coniferous forests and they cling on to trees and extracting sap by tapping on the barks.
19. Yellow-Billed Cardinal
| Scientific Name | Paroaria capitata |
| Size | 16 centimeter |
| Diet | Seeds, insects |
| Life Span | 3-5 years |
| Geographic Location | USA, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina |
The striking redhead and name-bearing yellow beak of this South American cardinal make it easy to spot. Additionally, their underparts are white, with a small white collar at the neck, and black wings, chin, and throat.
Since their introduction in the 1960s, they have spread throughout Hawaii and can be seen in almost all public places like parking lots, small fields, and also in areas with small shrubs.
20. Great Spotted Woodpecker
| Scientific Name | Dendrocopos major |
| Size | 20-24 centimeters |
| Diet | Insects, seeds, hatchlings, and nuts |
| Life Span | up to 11 years |
| Geographic Location | Across Eurasia |
The last bird on this list of Black, White, and Red Birds is the Great Spotted Woodpecker. With a black crown and white cheeks with underlying black stripes, it is almost impossible not to identify this beautiful woodpecker species.
Males have a bright red patch on the neck and a similar vivid red color on the rump. The breast region is majorly whitish, but the wings are black with alternating white markings.
The beak is quite strong, and along with a shock-absorbing brain box, these birds are the ideal creatures to forage on to trees.
Here, we come to the end of our today’s article on Black, white, and red birds. We will be back soon with more interesting articles. Until then, you may check out several articles on a wide spectrum of topics, like mammals, fishes, birds, amphibians, etc., only on this website of ours.
References:
Hawai’i Birding Trails – Yellow Billed Cardinal
Cool Green Science- Yellow Bellied Sapsucker
All About Birds- Tricolored Blackbird
Nature Mapping Foundation- Pileated Woodpecker
American Bird Conservancy- Rose Breasted Grosbeak
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A zoology student turned writer. Nature has always been a magnet to me, and to unearth some of its secrets through my articles is my prime intention. If not engaging myself with nature and anime content, you can always find me going through some Bengali classics or filling the air with some soulful Tabla beats. An artist, trying to throw some colors to my blank canvas of life.
