North Cascades

Threatened and Endangered Species

Pileated Woodpecker Dryocopus pileatus The pileated woodpecker's Latin name translates into "wood cutter" or "tree cleaver." These large, dark woodpeckers are about the size of a crow; they are the largest North American woodpecker. They have characteristic red head crests, white stripes down the sides of the neck, and large white patches on the undersides of the wings. Pileateds prefer to live in mature or nearly mature dense, coniferous forests with large dead trees and snags. They have also been seen in large cottonwood stands along rivers. The pileated's diet consists of mostly insects (they love carpenter ants!), with some consumption of fruit, acorns, nuts, and sap. In the winter, when the ground is snow covered, its diet is mostly dormant ants. Their strong bills are longer than their heads. They use their bills for drumming, accessing food, and excavating. Both the male and female drum, usually on a dead tree, to advertise territory and to attract a mate. Pileateds also drum before going to roost at night. The bill is used to dig for insects in dead, standing trees and logs on the forest floor, to tear apart anthills on the ground, and to strip off the bark of dead trees to get at wood-boring beetles. The bill is also used to excavate roosting and nesting cavities. Wood ducks, flying squirrels, and Douglas squirrels often make their nests in abandoned pileated woodpecker roosting cavities.