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"The Pileated Woodpecker was the model for the cartoon character Woody Woodpecker!"
"The Pileated Woodpecker digs large rectangular holes in trees to find ants. These excavations can be so wide and deep that they can cause small trees to break in half."
Scientific Name -
Dryocopus pileatus
RANGE - U.S. Central America & Southern Canada
LIFESPAN - 2 to 4 years
DIET - Variety of insets, fruits, berries & nuts.
WEIGHT - 8.8 to 12.3 ounces
WINGSPAN - 26 to 30 inches
LENGTH - 16 to 19 inches
STATUS - Unknown
PROTECTION - Not Protected
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The Pileated Woodpecker is the largest woodpecker in Tennessee and most of North America. With a black body and a red crest on the head along with its loud calls and huge excavations in dead trees, this bird is unmistakeable. The sound the Pileated Woodpecker makes when excavating is much louder than the other woodpeckers and can be startling if close by. They dig rectangular holes in trees to find ants. These excavations can be so broad and deep that they have caused small trees to break in half.
These excavations are so extensive that they often attract other birds to feed at the scene. The Pileated Woodpecker prefers large trees when nesting and a pair stays together in its territory year round. They will defend their territory in all seasons, but will tolerate floaters during the winter months. Pileated Woodpecker populations declined with the clearing of the eastern forests but slightly rebounded in the middle 20th century and has been increasing slowly in most of its range. Only in Arkansas do numbers seem to be decreasing. Adults are mainly black with a red crest and a white line down the sides of the throat. Males have a red line from the bill to the throat and red on the front of the crown. In adult females, these areas are black. The diet of the Pileated Woodpecker is mainly insects (especially beetle larvae and carpenter ants) as well as fruits, berries and nuts. They often chip out large and roughly rectangular holes in trees while searching for insects. This bird prefers mature forests, but has adapted to use second-growth forests and heavily wooded parks. The Pileated Woodpecker was the model for the cartoon character Woody Woodpecker.
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