Pileated Woodpecker

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Pileated Woodpecker Dryocopus pileatus

Description:

The Pileated woodpecker is about the size of a crow.

Size: 16 to 19 inches (40-49 cm)
Wingspan: 26 to 30 inches (66-75 cm)
Weight: 8.9 to 12.4 ounces (250-350 g)

They are mostly black with a red crest, white markings on their head and white linings on the under side of their wings. The picture above shows a male. You can see how the red goes all the way to the base of the bill. On a female, the area between the eyes will be brownish-grey.

Diet:

They eat large amounts of carpenter ants as well as other insects, seeds and fruit. You can attract a Pileated woodpecker to your bird feeders using suet bird food mixes.

The picture above shows a young bird begging mom for more yummy suet.

Sex Differences:

Colors are similar between the male and the female. The male has a red crown and red forehead with red to the base of the bill. The female has a red crown, greyish-brown forehead and is black to the base of the bill.

Nesting:

These woodpeckers are cavity-nesters. The cavity is excavated in dead wood 15 to 70 feet high. The entrance hole will be about 3 1/2 inches with a cavity depth of 10 to 24 inches. Nest will contain 3 to 5 white eggs. The incubation period is 15 to 16 days.

Range:

A Few Things You Probably Didn't Know:

The feeding holes are recognizable by their unique rectangular shape, usually 3 to 6 inches. The excavated feeding holes often attract other woodpeckers for feeding.
Territory size is 150 to 200 acres. A pair of Pileated woodpeckers will remain in their territory all year around.
Very distinct "cuk-cuk-cuk" call. Loud drumming is done by unmated males to attract females and between mated pairs as part of courtship.

Click here to learn how to attract wild birds to your wild bird feeders.

Click here for information on other backyard birds.

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