There's a fine line between love and hate, as they use minor variations of their aggressive displays to court would-be mates. Initial encounters between males and females during the breeding season may appear hostile, but eventually the sexes become more tolerant of each other. Nothing breaks the stillness of an Ozark forest like the raucous laughlike call of the pileated woodpecker. Encountering a mixed flock of woodpeckers and other birds busily foraging on leafless trees never fails to break up the monotony of a walk in the winter woods. Whether you see woodpeckers in small flocks, singly or in pairs, you'll be delighted by the wide variety of woodpeckers in Missouri throughout the seasons.
Males have a red patch on the back of their neck that extends over the top of their head.
Females lack red on the top of their heads but have a red patch on the back of their neck. Red color on their belly is faint. They breed in urban areas as well as heavily forested regions. Like several other woodpecker species, they hoard nuts, fruits and insects in their cavities and defend them within a territory. The fruits and insects are later fed to their young.