Pileated Woodpeckers

The Pileated Woodpecker is easily recognized by its size and distinctive coloring. It is fairly large, measuring 16 to 19 inches in length with a wingspan of 26 to 30 inches. It is one of the largest woodpeckers in North America. Only the Ivory-billed Woodpecker (if it still exists) and the Imperial Woodpecker residing in Mexico are larger.

It is mostly black with a large red crest on its head. There are white stripes on its neck and black and white strips on its face. Its long, sharp beak is a silver-gray and its eyes yellow. In flight it's easy to see the white lining or underside of its wings.

The male and female are similar in appearance, but the female is not quite as flashy as the male. The male's forehead is red, but the female's is usually a grayish-yellow in color. Males may have some red striping on their face as well.

The Pileated Woodpecker prefers forested areas with large, mature trees. They can be found throughout Canada and the Eastern United States, and in isolated pockets along the Pacific coast. While they prefer the isolated forest areas they can be found in tree filled parks and groves throughout their range. They are a non-migratory bird and once established will remain in the same area throughout their life, but will excavate a new nest site yearly.

The drumming of the Pileated Woodpecker can be heard throughout the year but it more so in the spring. The male drums on the trees to advertise his presence in an effort to catch a female's attention. Once mated, the drumming will continue as part of the courtship ritual.

The nest cavity is usually 15 to 70 feet above the ground. The entrance hole is small, just three and a half inches in diameter but the nest itself is up to 24 inches deep. The female will lay three to five white eggs which are then incubated for 14 to 16 days by both the male and the female. The young fledge around 28 days.

The Pileated Woodpecker's drumming can be very loud, often sounding like someone striking a tree with a hammer.

The Pileated Woodpecker is an insect eater. The bulk of its diet is made up of carpenter ants and beetle larvae. Its bill is sharp and it uses it to pull the bark off the tree to expose the larvae and ant colonies. Poking its long sticky, tongue into the holes, it drags the insects out.

While the bulk of the Pileated Woodpecker's diet consists of ants, it will also eat fruits, nuts and occasionally seeds.

The Pileated Woodpecker is no longer on the endangered species list, but have suffered from loss of habitat. The old growth forests are disappearing. While the logging companies usually replant, the younger, smaller trees are not what the Pileated Woodpecker is looking for. Their diet is usually drilled from the dead trees left standing in the old growth forests.

The bushy undergrowth is another problem, but controlled burns have helped keep that problem from becoming a major issue. While the Pileated Woodpecker's numbers have increased and is no longer on the endangered species lists, it still bears watching.

The Little Guy
The Downy Woodpecker

Big Brothers

The Red-bellied Woodpecker
The Pileated Woodpecker
The Red-headed Woodpecker
The Hairy Woodpecker
The Northern Flicker

The Illusive One

The Ivory-billed Woodpecker

The Mischief Maker
Woody Woodpecker

The Grail Bird: The Re-discovery of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker


The Grail Bird: Hot on the Trail of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker
Editorial Review
From Scientific American

This book is an outstanding example of the behind-the-recent-headlines genre. It tells the story of the obsessive quest to find the ivory-billed woodpecker, which was feared to be extinct (no confirmed sightings since 1944). Big, mysterious, iconic, the bird is "a symbol of everything that has gone wrong with our relationship to the environment." In the 19th century, it was plundered by collectors, and in the 20th, extensive habitat destruction seemingly drove it to extinction.

Dunn, J.L. & Alderfer, J., Editors. 2006. National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, Fifth Edition. National Geographic Society.

Peterson, T.P. & Peterson, V.M. 2002. Birds of Eastern and Central North America, Fifth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, New York, N.Y.

Nature Works
Pileated Woodpecker
Wild Bird Watching