One of the largest woodpeckers in North America is the pileated woodpecker. At first, you will probably hear a pileated woodpecker before you see it. The loud hammering on trees is an indication a woodpecker is around, looking for bugs to eat. Or it might be mating season, where it is calling for a partner. It is a shy bird that is hard to spot, but when you do, it is a treat!
Food
Since the pileated is so shy, not many will come in to backyard birdfeeders. They spend the majority of their life clinging to the side of a tree, looking for food. Their diet staple is carpenter ants, which they prefer over all kinds of bugs. Sometimes they hop on the ground or around fallen logs searching for bugs.
On occasion, if you have a secluded and quiet feeder station, they will come in to the large suet feeders. They do not seem to be attracted to a water source or a nesting box in your yard. The pileated will find its own water source and nesting cavity.
Physical Traits
The pileated woodpecker stands between sixteen and nineteen inches tall. It is black, with a red crest and white stripes on the neck and face. The only difference between males and females is the color of the forehead and the lack of mustache on the female. The males have a red forehead and moustache, whereas the females are a dull brown or gray color. They both have a sharp, strong beak used to carve holes in trees. A juvenile of either sex is duller in color.
Nesting
The woodpecker makes large holes in trees for nesting and roosting. The holes can be as large as two or three feet in diameter. The inside is lined with bark and tree leaves to make it cozy for the babies.
The female will lay between three and five eggs once every year. The female incubates during the day and the male takes a turn during the night hours. The eggs are plain white and hatch in 15 to 18 days. Babies will fly off within 26 to 28 days and find their own territory. A pileated woodpecker can live as long as ten years.
Habitat
Pileated woodpeckers live in large, mature forests in the eastern United States, southern Canada and the Pacific Northwest of the US. It needs the old trees since it makes many small holes to pull out insects with its long, sticky tongue. They pull bark off the trees to expose ant colonies, which they eat. The bird will drum on hollow logs and trees to mark out its territory to other birds. It also makes an unusual trill call to its mate or other birds to signal its location.
Pileated woodpeckers are losing their territory and nesting places due to suburban growth and development. Pileated woodpeckers prefer large, old and even dead trees to live in. Once all of the old trees are cleared, pileated woodpeckers are pushed closer together and have less room to breed, live and find food. Efforts need to be taken to protect woodlands so this shy bird has a future in the United States and Canada.
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