Species

Pileated woodpecker

Dryocopus pileatus

A crow-sized woodpecker with a flaming red crest, whose rectangular holes are used by many other animals.

Photo Cephas (opens in a new tab) / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab)

Adaptation

At a glance

Size: About 40 to 49 cm long
Weight: About 250 to 350 g
Habitat: Mature woods and wooded suburbs with large trees
Diet: Carpenter ants and beetle larvae; fruit and nuts
In Georgia: Common resident statewide
Voice: A loud, wild "cuk-cuk-cuk" and slow, powerful drumming
Rabies vector: No

Identification

Key marks: Very large, black woodpecker; bright red crest; white stripes on the face and neck; white underwings in flight
Told apart from: Red-headed woodpecker, which is much smaller with an all-red head
Where to look: Large trees and fallen logs in woods; listen for loud calls

Behaviour

Pileated woodpeckers dig large rectangular holes in trees and logs to reach carpenter ants. Pairs hold territories year-round.

Why they matter

Pileated woodpeckers are key "ecosystem engineers": their large cavities are used for nesting and roosting by owls, ducks, bats, squirrels and many other animals, and their foraging speeds the decay of dead wood.

Reproduction and lifecycle

Nest — A new cavity dug each year in a large dead tree
Eggs — Usually three to five
Incubation — About 15 to 18 days
Chicks — Fed by both parents
Flight — At about 24 to 28 days
Lifespan — Wild birds over twelve years are recorded

Living around people

Large dead trees left standing where safe support pileated woodpeckers and the animals that use their holes.

Misconceptions

Pileated woodpeckers kill trees. They feed on trees already infested with ants or decay.
It is an ivory-billed woodpecker. The ivory-bill has a white bill and white on the back of the wings; the pileated is the woodpecker actually seen.

Related species

Seasonal activity

When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.

Breeding and active nests by month for this species
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Breeding	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Active nests	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Notes	Pairs drumming	Pairs calling	Nest excavation	Nesting	Chicks	Young fledging	Young with parents	Young independent	Present	Present	Present	Present

Where it lives

Recorded in 53 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.

Canada

If you found one

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