A Bird’s Note: Pileated Woodpecker

By Casey First

The Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) is the largest woodpecker in North America—and perhaps the most unmistakable and iconic. These beautiful birds command anyone’s attention with their vibrant plumage, picturesque form, intense drumming and unique calls.

Fully grown, these woodpeckers are about the size of a crow and have a wingspan that is close to 3 feet wide. One will usually hear them before they see them as they jackhammer dead trees high above with their large chisel-like bill in search of tasty treats. They are easily recognized by their loud drumming calls which they use primarily for communication and territorial defense. This drumming, produced by rapidly pecking at a tree (up to 20 times a second), creates a tremendous blow and is the equivalent of hitting their heads with the force of almost 20 mph each strike. Luckily, they have developed a spongy layer between their brain and skull that cushions this brutal force.

Once you get one of these woodpeckers in view, you will instantly notice their signature bright red and triangular crest that sweeps back off their large head. They have round bright eyes, a long neck and a mostly black body with white stripes on the face and cheek. The males have a red stripe on their cheek while the females have a black stripe. In flight, these birds show off gorgeous white underwings as they soar with deep and varied wingbeats. Pileated woodpeckers mainly dwell in mature deciduous or mixed woodlands, but have a diverse range and can be seen in wetlands, shrublands, savannas and thickets.

Here in Western North Carolina they can be commonly seen in backyards that have lots of trees, in parks and in woodlots. They are year-round residents here and in most of the eastern US, Midwest, most of Canada and parts of the Pacific Northwest. They overwhelmingly prefer carpenter ants for fuel, but will also supplement their diets with a variety of other bugs like beetles, grasshoppers and termites. They are typically not referred to as “feeder birds,” but you can try to entice them by offering suet or shelled peanuts.

When foraging for food, these woodpeckers like dead and decaying trees, logs and fallen wood. They create large oval-shaped holes in the wood to aid in finding their prey. They utilize their sticky, mucous-coated and barbed tongues that are a full 4 inches longer than their bill to help them excavate bugs buried deep in crevices within wood. Once retracted, this unique tongue curls back into their throat and curves inside their head where it rests around the outside of their skull!

You can listen for a series of high and clear piping calls that sound like a wuk, wuk or cuk, cuk to know they are near. More often though, you will hear a loud and almost escalating shriek that can be picked up from a great distance. One will rarely see more than two of these woodpeckers at a time as they are quite solitary in nature and defend a large territory alone.

They prefer to nest in the same type of decaying wood they forage in, excavating oblong entrances and building deep cavities within the dead tree. Their nests are simple, lined with the wood chips left over from the site’s construction. Mom will only have one brood of babies each season and, typically, they have a clutch of three to five eggs.

If you are lucky enough to catch of glimpse in your backyard of the red blaze of these gorgeous woodpeckers, you can rest easy knowing that their population is not threatened like that of many other bird species today. Keeping our forests protected and planting new trees will ensure that this species continues to thrive for generations to come.

Casey First is owner of North Asheville Wild Birds Unlimited, located at 946 Merrimon Avenue, Suite 120. Monthly bird events are free and open to the public, with no registration required. To learn more, visit NorthAsheville.wbu.com. Stephanie Sipp is a professional nature illustrator and educator who creates joyful images of animals, birds, flowers and places which are celebrated by followers both regionally and online.