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Pileated Woodpecker

A female Pileated Woodpecker stands gripping the side of a branch in the shade of a tree. Leaves can be seen behind her. She has a red crest, a black and white face, and a mostly black body (though some white feathers can be seen on her wings and neck).

The first thing I thought when I saw the Pileated Woodpecker above was: Wow. That's a really big bird. They are the largest of North America's woodpeckers—at least, out of those confirmed not to be extinct—and can reach up to about 19 inches in length.[1,2] For comparison, that means they're almost double the length of a Red-bellied Woodpecker.[3] That, along with their crazy hairdo, means that these birds stand out.

Identification: Males vs. Females

You probably won’t have trouble identifying a Pileated Woodpecker, since they're giant and both males and females have a bright red crest. But for a fun twist, see if you're looking at a male or a female. The trick is to look for red, but not on the top of their head. Instead, look at the stripe near the lower edge of their beak. If it's black, it's a female. If it's red, it's a male.[2]

A graphic showing side by side photographs of the faces of a male and female Pileated Woodpecker. Each photo has an arrow pointing to the stripe near the lower edge of the bird's face with a label that says either male or female. The male bird has a red stripe. The female bird has a black stripe.

You might get to practice these ID-ing skills at the same time, since Pileated Woodpeckers mate for life and stay close together.[4,5] As couples, they are also entirely cute. When one bird wakes up, it gives the other a wake-up call, either literally or by drumming.[5] Then, they spend the day together: foraging and keeping in contact through calls and drums, staying within about 50 yards of each other.

Like I said: cute.

Parenting

With this close a bond, it’s no surprise that Pileated Woodpeckers work as a team to raise their young. Both birds help carve out a nest, incubate the eggs, and feed the babies.[1] However, the males do more of the excavating: in one study, they did twice as much.[6] In that same study, the researcher observed one enthusiastic male woodpecker who did over 99% of the carving, while the female kept coming by, presumably to see if she could help.

Two Pileated Woodpeckers stand gripping opposite sides of a branch in the sun during the late afternoon. Only the left woodpecker is fully visible, who stands with his head tilted upwards. He has a red crest, a black, white, and red face (the red being in the stripe near the lower edge of his beak), and a mostly black body (though there are some splotches of white feathers on his wings, and he has some white feathers on his neck). The bird on the right is partially hidden by the foliage.

The parents incubate the eggs for 18 days, which calls for shifts.[1] The mom takes most of the day shift while the dad takes the night shift.[1,7] Then it's time to welcome the baby woodpeckers into the world! As parents of 3-5 of babies, Pileated Woodpeckers are very watchful, not leaving the nest until the other has arrived and then foraging nearby.[1,5]

The babies start poking their heads out of the tree when they are 2 weeks old, showing off the characteristic red crest.[5,7] There’s a great photo by Hal and Kirsten Snyder on the Cornell Lab website.[8] But what's amazing to me is how adept they are at flying: on their flight, they can travel almost 100 yards.[5] It reminds me of young Ruddy Turnstones, who migrate on their own only a few days after learning to fly.[9]

Carvers at Heart

Pileated Woodpeckers are not just cute couples and good communicators; they are also prolific carvers. They carve nest holes for their babies, roost holes for themselves to sleep in, and just regular holes to help them find their favorite food: carpenter ants.[1] Dead trees are their favorite carving material, which makes them very important for these birds.[4,10] They have also been known to occasionally nest in utility poles.[1]

So the next time you’re out for a walk, keep an eye out for classic signs of their craftsmanship: wood shavings at the base of a tree.[4,10] Then, look up, since who knows? You might spot this cool, giant, red-headed bird’s home!

The Details:

Common Name: Pileated Woodpecker
Scientific Name: Dryocopus pileatus
Order: Piciformes
Family: Picidae
Seen: Hanging onto a tree
Month: April (female at top of post) and May (male woodpecker and friend)
Range: In the United States, the Pileated Woodpecker can mostly be found in the east as well as part of the west coast.[11] Specifically, it can be found in parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, a small part of North Dakota and eastward. In the west, it can also be found in parts of California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana. Their range also extends up into Canada. They do not migrate. Check out this helpful range map from the Cornell Lab's website!

 

Learn More:

  1. Kaufman, K. (1996). Lives of North American birds. Houghton Mifflin.
  2. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. (n.d.). Pileated Woodpecker: Identification. All About Birds.
  3. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. (n.d.). Red-bellied Woodpecker: Identification. All About Birds.
  4. National Park Service. (2021, April 28). Pileated Woodpecker.  
  5. Stokes, D., & Stokes, L. (1989). A guide to bird behavior (Vol. 3). Little, Brown and Company.
  6. Kilham, L. (1979). Courtship and the pair-bond of Pileated Woodpeckers. The Auk, 96(3), 587-594. 
  7. Tekiela, S. (2020) Birds of Florida field guide (3rd ed.). Adventure Publications.
  8. Snyder, H., & Snyder, K. (2010, May 12). Male and juvenile [Photo]. All About Birds. 
  9. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. (n.d.). Ruddy Turnstone: Overview. All About Birds.
  10. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. (n.d.). Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus). 
  11. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. (n.d.). Pileated Woodpecker: Range map. All About Birds.
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