pileated woodpeckerDryocopus pileatus
Identification:
This is a really big bird, a prehistoric looking woodpecker at least as big as a crow. It has a bright red crest (total for males, partial for females), thin neck and big head, a chunky and big beak, black and white striped face and mostly black back feathers. Males also have a red “moustache.” In flight it undulates and displays black and white pattern under the wing. Behavior: The pileated woodpecker excavates distinctive oblong holes in dead trees. It cries “cakcakcak” in an accelerating and rising and then falling cadence. It also drums loudly. It is primarily a “bark forager” and carpenter ants are its main food. What brings it to the SBG? Food, nesting sites. It depends on dead trees of considerable girth. When can I see it? Year-round, but it seems to be more visible in fall and spring. |