Pileated woodpecker

Latin name: Dryocopus pileatus L.
French name: Grand pic
Division: Vertebrata
Class: Piciformes

Description

Micro-habitat(s)

Trunk

Distribution

Eastern Canada

Damage, symptoms and biology

The pileated woodpecker is a bird with a red crest and black and white plumage. These birds typically inhabit forests and stands of mature trees. They feed on insects, using their pointed bill to dig into trees after insects. With its thick, heavy skull, this woodpecker can hammer away at the bark of trees to get at its food and also chisel a nesting cavity. The damage caused by these birds is insignificant because they generally drill holes in dead or dying trees, which are infested with insects.

Other information

A pileated woodpecker can be identified from some distance based on the sound it makes while drilling into tree trunks. Another frequent sign of its presence is woody residue around the base of trees from the holes it has chiselled.