Based on my friend's enthusiastic telling of the tale, he was more excited by the close encounter than embarrassed by having fallen asleep in the tree. And I don't blame him. It's not every day a pileated woodpecker lands within arm's reach. The top of the male's head is bright red from the base of the bill to the top of the crest. He also wears a red mustache.
Females lack the red mustache and forehead.
Because pileateds are big birds, they require big trees in which to excavate their nest and roost cavities. That's why they prefer mature forests. Young timber stands simply don't have trees large enough to meet their needs. Older stands also provide the proper winter diet. During cold weather, pileateds eat large black carpenter ants that inhabit dead and decaying branches, logs and stumps.