20 Black, White, and Red Birds That Are Strikingly Beautiful (With Pictures)

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

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

Tricolor 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

Pileated Woodpecker

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

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

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 WoodpeckerAdult 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yellow-Billed Cardinal
Yellow-Billed Cardinal | © DickDaniels commons.wikimedia (CC BY-SA 3.0)
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

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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