Pileated Woodpecker

Photo: Roland Jordahl

• Scientific Name: Dryocopus pileatus.
• Family: Woodpecker.
• Length: 16-1/2 inches.
• Wingspan: 29 inches.
• Distinctive Markings: Full red crest, black wings and tail, and a white stripe on its long neck. Males and females look alike, except the male has full red c rest that extends to the top of his bill, and a red "mustache." The female has a red crest on the back of her head and a black mustache.
• Nest: Pairs excavate a new nesting cavitity each year in genereally the same area. It's located in a tree 15 to 70 feet high, typically faces south and has a round entrance hole. The pair spends about a month creating the cavitiy, which is up to 24 inches deept. Using no nesting material, the female lays 3 to 5 white eggs, which both parents incubate for 18 days. They raise one brood per year.
• Song: Contact call is a deep loud "wek" or "kuk" sound. Territorial call is a higher-pitched cackle, "flick-a, flick-a, flick-a."
• Habitat: Mature conifer and deciduous forests and large tracts of mixed woodlands.
• Diet: Mostly carpenter ants, as well as beetles, insect larvae, wild berries and acorns.
• Backyard Favorites: Suet in feeders, located at least 10 feet above the ground on the trunk of a mature tree in wooded habitat.