Pileated Woodpecker
Dryocopus pileatus
Aves › Piciformes › Picidae › Dryocopus
Conservation status: least_concern
The Pileated Woodpecker is a large black woodpecker with a striking red crest on its head and white stripes running down its neck, making it one of North America's most recognizable birds. It excavates deep rectangular holes in dead trees while foraging for insects and produces a loud, distinctive laughing call that echoes through forests.
How To Identify
It is a large woodpecker (up to 18 inches) characterized by a bold contrasting pattern of black and white feathers, topped by an unmistakable bright scarlet crest.
Habitat
It inhabits mature forests, woodlots, and deciduous or mixed forests across North America, preferring areas with large dead trees for foraging and nesting.
Behaviour
This woodpecker creates distinctive rectangular or oval-shaped holes in trees while foraging for carpenter ants and wood-boring beetle larvae, leaving behind characteristic excavations that are often used by other cavity-nesting species.
Native Range
The pileated woodpecker is native to North America.
Did You Know?
It is famous for making large, nearly rectangular carvings into trees, which are used to extract prey inside the tree or to make a nest.
Create a free account to log your sightings of the Pileated Woodpecker, see where it has been recorded near you and build your Wild List.
Privacy · Terms · Impressum · Credits · About the beta