Birds Canada Featured Bird Pileated Woodpecker
Ian Fife, Ontario Forest Birds Program Coordinator, Birds Canada, Brant Chapter
Diet
They rely on carpenter ants all year long, and eat woodboring beetles, wild fruits, and seeds when in season. Pileated Woodpeckers locate ant colonies in the summer and return in the winter to access this dependable resource. At the feeder, they make short work of suet. Management Guidelines
Guidelines are centred on nest and roost sites. A nest tree is larger in diameter and has one cavity hole. Most roost sites will be found in trees with extensive heart rot and of a Pileated Woodpeckers at their cavity nest. Photo Credit: Mick Thompson smaller diameter. A roost tree will have a hollow chamber with many cavities to escape predators. Ontario’s Identification The largest woodpecker in North America is mostly Tree Marking Guide has extensive management guidelines for Pileated Woodpecker and can be black with a white line extending across the cheek found on the OWA website. and down the neck, and a white chin patch. The most distinct feature is its bright red crest. The males’ crest extends from the base of the bill to the back of the head, whereas the females’ begins above the eyes. Males also have a red “moustache”. Juveniles look similar to the adults. Conservation Status
Populations in the eastern part of this species’ range have decreased slightly over the past 50 years. The biggest contributor is the removal of large diameter live and dead trees, which eliminates nest and roost sites. Breeding Biology
In Ontario, the breeding season extends from late April to mid-July. Cavities are excavated in dead or declining live trees in all old-growth forest types. Both adults excavate nest cavities and raise and feed young. 24
Did You Know?
The word “pileated” means “capped,” which refers to the red crest on the top of this bird’s head. Because of the size of feeding cavities created by Pileated Woodpeckers, they have been known to cut down trees and telephone poles. All woodpeckers have a long (up to 4 inches), barbed or sticky tongue they use to pull insects out of the tree. Their retracted tongue wraps all the way around their skull. All woodpeckers have a reinforced skull structured to spread the force of impact and a cushioned brain. However, the direction of impact is important as they are just as susceptible to window collisions as other birds.
The Ontario Woodlander—An Ontario Woodlot Association Quarterly. Issue 102, March 2021
