This afternoon, the cats let us know that there was something happening in the back yard that was REALLY interesting to cats. It was a bird.
It was a beautiful specimen. I thought it might be a woodpecker because of the brilliant red chevron on the back of the head, Mrs. Stockton is not so sure it’s a woodpecker. It is definitely NOT a cockaded, pileated, red-belly, or red-breasted. That mostly rules out any pecker we would see here in GA.
Description: Slim build. Small round black head with a LARGE brilliant bright red arrow pointing downwards on the back of the head. White face with little black muttonchop teardrops on the cheeks.
Gray/brown spotted belly (black spots). Very dark wings/back with lateral black stripes. It was digging for grubs or ants or worms in the yard. Curved-needle shaped beak, very long and slim. About 1.5" beak, curved downward and very skinny.
We can’t find either of our Audubon books tonight. What bird is this? The red arrow should be a good clue.