Pileated Woodpecker – ID Sheet

Common Name: Pileated Woodpecker

Scientific Name: Dryocopus pileatus

Other Names:

Identification:

• Large Woodpecker with a mostly black body (About the size of a crow)
• White wing linings
• Head has a prominent red crest and cap
• White face and neck stripes
• Red moustache stripe and gray bill (male)
• Black moustache stripe and cap (female)

Habitat:

• Found in mature forests and border from British Columbia to Nova Scotia and south into California and east to Florida
• Not found in desert southwest, Rocky Mountains, and the plains

Feeding and Breeding:

• Eats insects such as ants and wood boring beetle larva. Will also eat seeds, fruit and suet.
• Uses it long, barbed tongue with sticky saliva to extract ants from trees
• Nests are usually in large dead trees.
• The male begins the nest excavation
• The nest may be 10-24 inches in depth and can take 3-6 weeks to build
• A monogamous bird that lays 3-8 white eggs

Calls and Sounds:

• Call is a loud “cuk-cuk-cuk-cuk” (Listen at All About Birds)

Interesting Information:

• The oldest known Pileated Woodpecker was a male, and at least 12 years, 11 months old when he was recaptured and rereleased during banding operations in Maryland. (Source: All About Birds)

Observation Notes:

• December 2020-Northern Vermont- I heard the distinct call of the Pileated Woodpecker while out for a walk with the dogs. It was a silent afternoon, just shortly after a snowstorm ended, we had stopped a bend in the trail when the Pileated Woodpecker called out for what seemed like 45 seconds.
• December 2020- Need to get pictures of the many Pileated Woodpecker holes in the trees. These holes are a very distinct size and shape and often low to the ground.

Resources:

• All About Birds at the Cornell Lab
• iBird Pro App

• 

•