Pileated Woodpecker - Photos by Bruce Dayton - Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus)

ORDER: Piciformes
FAMILY: Picidae (Woodpeckers - 23 Species)
SPECIES: Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus)

Pileated Woodpecker
The Pileated Woodpecker is one of the largest woodpeckers found in North America. People that observe them, often report that they have spotted an Ivory-billed Woodpecker, a very rare if not extinct bird. You can pronounce Pileated two ways, with a short I-sound (pill-ee-ated) or a long I-sound (pile-ee-ated).
SIZE	The Pileated Woodpecker is crow-sized (15-19”) woodpecker.
DESCRIPTION	It is black with black and white neck stripes on its face. It has white wing linings and a prominent red crest at rear of head. Male has red in the black mustachio-type stripe, while the female has no red in mustachio-type stripe.
NESTING	Clutch size ranges from 3-5 eggs, which are incubated in 14 to 18 days. Both parents incubate the eggs during the day, the male incubates part of the day as well as at night. The Pileated woodpecker makes its nest in a tree cavity from 15 to 70 feet high.
RANGE	It can be found in forested areas with large trees across Canada, the eastern United States and parts of the Pacific coast.
HABITAT	It prefers a habitat of old-growth coniferous and deciduous forests, but can reside and breed in younger forests if they contain trees large enough for roosting and nesting.
DIET	Diet: The Pileated Woodpecker eats wood-boring insects and insects that nest in trees. A large part of its diet is made up of carpenter ants, long-horned beetles and beetle larvae. They eat some acorns, nuts, berries and fruit.

INTERESTING FACTS

Birds

Birds are warm-blooded creatures that lay eggs. All birds have feathers and wings, and most birds are able to fly. Birds vary considerably in their sizes, shapes, colors, and behavior. There are more than 9,000 different species of birds in the world. Birds range in size from the tiny hummingbirds to the huge ostrich.

Please email with any ideas or comments concerning this web page.

The images on this web page are copyrighted © 2003 - 2007 by Bruce Dayton. I want to share my photos to promote conservation and to help people identify and learn about the birds and other creatures that live with us on the North American continent. Please do not use any of my work in any non-profit or for-profit project without first getting written permission from me. You can ask for permission by emailing me at webmaster@wildlifeofnorthamerica.info. All reproductions must bear an appropriate credit.




Pileated Woodpecker

Sapsucker Woods Bird Sanctuary Tompkins County, New York


PtWp_226A_032617	PtWp_226A_033063


PtWp_226A_033065	PtWp_226A_033080

Passenger Pigeon Drawing by Louis Agassiz Fuertes