Pileated Woodpecker

Dryocopus pileatusOrder: PICIFORMESFamily: Woodpeckers (Picidae)

General

Pileated Woodpecker: Large woodpecker with mostly black body and conspicuous white wing linings. Head has a prominent red crest and cap, white face and neck stripes, red moustache stripe, and gray bill. Female is similar but has black moustache stripe and cap.

Range and Habitat

Pileated Woodpecker: Resident from British Columbia east across southern Canada to Nova Scotia, and south to northern California, southern Idaho, eastern North Dakota, central Texas, and Florida. Found in mature forests and borders.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"cuk-cuk-cuk-cuk-cuk"

Interesting Facts

Pileated Woodpeckers "drum" on hollow trees with their bills in order to claim territory.

They dig rectangular holes in trees to find ants. These excavations can be so broad and deep that they can cause small trees to break in half.

They will make up to 16 holes in each tree to allow escape routes should a predator enter the tree. They peck the bark around the entrance holes to make the sap run from the tree. This will keep some predators, such as snakes, from entering.

A group of pileated woodpeckers are collectively known as a "crown" of woodpeckers.

Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Pileated Woodpecker

Pileated Woodpecker: Large woodpecker with mostly black body and white wing linings which are visible in flight. the head has a prominent red crest and cap, white face and neck stripes and a red moustache stripe, and large gray bill. Legs and feet are gray. The largest woodpecker in North America.

● Song: "cuk-cuk-cuk-cuk-cuk"

● Foraging & Feeding: Pileated Woodpecker: Feeds on insects such as ants and wood boring beetle larvae; also eats fruits and nuts. Pries off long slivers of wood to expose ant galleries, or uses its long, pointed tongue with barbs and sticky saliva to catch and extract ants from tunnels.

● Breeding & nesting: Pileated Woodpecker: Three to eight white eggs are laid in a bare tree cavity. Incubation ranges from 15 to 18 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: Pileated Woodpecker: Ivory-billed Woodpecker lacks white chin and small white eyestripe extending to crest.

Flight Pattern

Strong powerful wing beats when traveling distances.

● Range & Habitat: Pileated Woodpecker: Resident from British Columbia east across southern Canada to Nova Scotia, and south to northern California, southern Idaho, eastern North Dakota, central Texas, and Florida. Found in mature forests and borders.

^BreedingMonogamous

^PopulationCommon to fairly common

^MigrationNonmigratory

^Weight10.9 Ounces

Field Guide to Birds of North America