Pileated Woodpecker

        Today's featured feathered friend is the Pileated Woodpecker.  It is the largest woodpecker in North America and one of eight woodpecker species seen in Florida.  Like most other woodpeckers, the Pileated is non-migratory and resides year-round in its range.

      The Pileated is a very large, long-necked, long-tailed woodpecker with a massive bill.  They have a brownish-black back, wings and tail, with bold white stripes down the neck and a flaming-red crest.  Males have a red "moustache" stripe and a red forehead.  Females have a black "moustache" stripe with a brownish-black forehead.  Juveniles are similar to adults but are a duller black with a dark eye and a pinkish crest, The average Pileated is 17 inches long, weighs 10 ounces and has a 28-inch wing span. 

         These birds eat mostly insects, especially carpenter ants.  They chip away large chunks of trees searching for ant colonies.  In breeding season they excavate nests in dead trees (snags), usually making multiple entrance holes.  After the young birds have left the nest, it is abandoned.  The site then becomes a home for song birds or other small animals.  Their distinctive "kekekeke" call is very loud and easily heard from long distances.

        Enjoy our favorite photos of the Pileated Woodpecker.....tweet.....tweet!!

Male Pileated Woodpecker
(Taken 2/27/13, Oyster Creek Regional Park, Englewood FL)

Female Pileated Woodpecker
(Taken 2/12/14, Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve, Fort Myers FL)

Pair of Pileated Woodpeckers
 (<--- male; female ---->) at nesting site (out of picture on the right)
(Taken 2/20/13, Oyster Creek Regional Park, Englewood FL)


http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/pileated_woodpecker/id


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pileated_woodpecker