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from $39
The Red-headed Woodpecker - a tricolour marvel that Audubon called the most beautiful woodpecker in the world. Unmistakable at any distance.
Each print is made to order. You can cancel within 12 hours of ordering, after which it goes into production and cannot be cancelled. Secure checkout via Stripe.
Printed on Hahnemuhle Photo Rag 308gsm.
John James Audubon painted the Red-headed Woodpecker multiple times and called it the most beautiful woodpecker in the world. The judgment is defensible. Melanerpes erythrocephalus is tricoloured in the boldest possible way: the entire head and neck are blood-red, the body and rump are white, the wings and back are blue-black. No blending, no subtlety, no intermediate zones. Each colour holds its territory absolutely.
It is a large woodpecker, 7 to 9 inches, and it sits on snags and fence posts in the open, where the tricolour pattern can be appreciated at distance without binoculars. The flash of the white secondary patches in flight - visible against the dark wing - is one of the most distinctive flight patterns in North American birds. Audubon or not, everyone who sees this bird stops.
The Red-headed Woodpecker is a generalist in ways most woodpeckers are not. It catches insects in the air like a flycatcher, caches acorns and other food for winter like a jay, and excavates cavities in open woodland and savanna that other cavity-nesters then use. It is a keystone species in ecosystems that have very little keystone left.
The species has declined significantly since European settlement - open woodland with large snags is not something the modern landscape produces easily. That scarcity gives every sighting weight. It is a bird worth hanging on a wall, in part as a record that it still exists.
Available in three sizes on Hahnemühle Photo Rag 308gsm - archival cotton, acid-free, matte finish. Printed by Prodigi using pigment inks rated 100+ years under display conditions.
| Size | Unframed | Framed |
|---|---|---|
| 8 × 10 in | $39 | $99 |
| 16 × 20 in | $69 | $149 |
| 24 × 30 in | $99 | $199 |
Framed prints are glazed, no mat. Frame colours: black, brown, dark grey, gold.
Each print is made to order through our global print partner and shipped from the production lab nearest you - allow a few days for printing plus local tracked delivery.
Each print is made to order. You can change or cancel it within 12 hours of ordering. After that it goes into production and can no longer be cancelled, though we will always put right anything that arrives damaged.
The available sizes (up to A2) and any framed finishes are shown above. Choose yours before checkout.
Yes - each print is sized to fit standard frames. Framed finishes are offered on many prints.
Because each print is made to order, contact us within 14 days of delivery and we will put it right.
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