Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus)

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Pileated Woodpecker (Picidae: Dryocopus pileatus)

The Pileated Woodpecker is the largest woodpecker in North America. The species is relatively common in the Eastern Deciduous Forest of the eastern half of the United States and southeastern Canada. The species also occurs in the woodlands of the prairie provinces of Canada, westward to British Columbia, and southward to northern California.

Identifying Features: The large size of the pileated woodpecker in addition to the red, triangular cap, and the white black and white markings of the head are distinctive.

Similar species: There are no similar species in the Eastern Deciduous Forest.

Habitat: The Pileated Woodplecker has, in the past, been an inhabitant of mature forests and forest borders. Recently, however, it has become much more common and is now a regular visitor to suburban backyards so long as there are patches of trees about.

Food: The Pileated Woodpecker, like many woodpeckers uses a chisel-chaped bill to pry bark away from tree trunks searching for insects and insect larvae between the bark and the growing layer of the tree.

Behavior: The Pileated Woodpecker is a strong flier with an irregular flapping motion. They communicate with a call consisting of the series kuk-kuk-kuk-kuk rising is and falling in pitch and volume. The birds also drum on the trees, starting loud and tapering to soft at the end.

Reproduction: The nests of Pileated Woodpeckers are elliptical to rectangular holes chiseled into the trunks of trees. A typical nest contains 4 white eggs.