Dryocopus pileatus
(Pileated Woodpecker)
Description
Pileated woodpeckers are very large at 19 1/2 inches in length and are our largest woodpecker.
It has a very large bill and a brilliant red head crest.
The male has a red crest that comes all the way down the forehead to the top of the bill and has a red “moustache”. The female lacks the red mustache and her forehead is black because the red crest doesn’t go all the way down to her bill.
Common Name, Latin Name, and Family
Pileated Woodpecker
Dryocopus pileatus
They are found in the woodpecker family (Picidae).
Behavior
They fly through their forested habitat with long sweeping wingbeats in search of grubs and ants in decaying wood.
Their search for food creates a loud banging as they use their stout bills as a chisel to break apart the decaying wood to get to the grubs and ant nests inside.
Their call is a very loud kik-kikkik-kik-kik and is very distinctive and hard to misidentify with any other bird.
They prefer to feed away from humans and are easily scared away once they notice you.
Habitat
Pileated woodpeckers inhabit forests, pinelands, and hardwood forests. They will visit development sites if there are large log piles left to sit for too long. They will visit gardens if you provide log piles, dead trees and snags that their food sources live in like carpenter ants and beetle grubs.
Range
They are found in the eastern half of the United States from all of Florida north into Canada.
Food
They are omnivorous and will eat insects, fruit, mast such as acorns, and tree sap. Their favorite foods are termites, ant larvae, and large grubs.
Nesting and Young
They are year round residents in Florida so they do breed here. They nest in a hollow cavity that they excavate in a tree trunk. Nests are usually very high up in the canopy at around 45 feet but can be anywhere from 15 to 80 feet off the ground. The nest is constructed by both parents. Pileated woodpeckers are monogamous.
They only have one brood a year. The nest is lined with wood chips and 3 to 5 eggs are laid. Incubation takes place for 15 to 18 days. When the chick hatch they are taken care of by both parents. They are able to fly at 26 to 28 days.
The male nests in the cavity prior to egg laying; at other times roosts in the nest cavity from the previous year. The male incubates the eggs at night.
The babies diet consists of regurgitated meals from their parents. It contains mostly insects, but also fruit, nuts, acorns, and tree sap.
Courtship displays consist of crest raising, wing spreading, head swinging & bobbing, etc. Flight display in pair formation with the male circling. [1]
They need habitat with mature trees, dead snags, and fallen logs. Brush piles and log piles will attract them because these attract large beetles and carpenter ants that will lay their eggs in the wood. So they will pick through the pile to find active insects.
Conservation
These large woodpeckers need mature forests with floodplain forests being their favored habitat. Habitat destruction, humans spraying poisons, and removing dead and fallen trees from their property is making it difficult for these birds to exist.
“Woodpeckers play an important role in the mature forest ecosystem. Their large nest cavities are utilized as a refuge by many other woodland species including small owls, wood ducks, bluebirds, and squirrels”. [2]
Click on the picture below to take you to my Pileated Woodpecker YouTube video!
