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Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) wildlife photograph

Field guide · rare

Pileated Woodpecker

Crow-sized crimson-crested carpenter — rectangular holes in big timber.

Least Concern

Dryocopus pileatus

Overview

Pileated woodpeckers are crow-sized forest woodpeckers with flaming red crests and bold black-and-white patterning. They hammer large rectangular excavations in dead wood for carpenter ants, and their loud kuk-kuk calls and deep drums carry through mature woods.

For US collectors, the pileated is a rare big-woods prize — red crest, rectangular nest hole, and the closest living feel to an ivory-bill on an eastern forest trail.

Habitat

  • Mature deciduous forest
  • Mixed woodland
  • Bottomland hardwoods
  • Large wooded park

Mature deciduous and mixed forests across eastern and northern North America with large snags, fallen logs, and continuous woodland cover.

Countries found

Field notes

Field scale for the Pileated Woodpecker: length around 40-49 cm; wingspan 66-75 cm; weight 250-350 g. Typical lifespan: Around 5-12 years in the wild.

When you are scanning habitat, prioritise mature deciduous forest, mixed woodland, bottomland hardwoods, and large wooded park. Those settings are where a clean look and a usable photo are most likely.

Quick ID anchor: Crow-sized black woodpecker with a pointed red crest and white wing lining in flight. Confirm with behaviour and habitat before you log the discovery.

Diet

Carpenter ants and wood-boring insect larvae chiselled from dead wood.

Also take fruits, nuts, and occasional suet at feeders.

Behaviour

Powerful excavators that leave oblong trenches in logs and snags.

Territorial pairs drum and call loudly through forest tracts.

How to identify

Crow-sized black woodpecker with a pointed red crest and white wing lining in flight.

Long chisel bill; male shows red on the cheek (malar) stripe.

Interesting facts

  1. 01

    Largest woodpecker commonly seen in the United States.

  2. 02

    Bright red crest on both sexes; male has a red malar stripe.

  3. 03

    Excavate distinctive large rectangular feeding holes.

  4. 04

    Specialise on carpenter ants and wood-boring beetle larvae.

  5. 05

    Loud flickering flight and ringing ‘kuk’ calls.

  6. 06

    Need mature trees and snags for nesting cavities.

Conservation status

LC: Least Concern

Pileated woodpeckers are Least Concern and have rebounded with forest recovery in parts of the East. They still depend on mature woods with large dead wood, so heavy clearing reduces local presence.

Sources: IUCN Red List

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Where it lives

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