page_title: Pileated woodpecker
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Pileated woodpecker / Description
caption_attribution_description: English: Plate 111 of Birds of America by John James Audubon depicting Pileated Woodpecker.
context_page_description: The pileated woodpecker is a woodpecker native to North America. This insectivorous bird is an inhabitant of deciduous forests in eastern North America, the Great Lakes, the boreal forests of Canada, and parts of the Pacific Coast. It is the second-largest woodpecker in the U.S., after the critically endangered and possibly extinct ivory-billed woodpecker. The term "pileated" refers to the bird's prominent red crest, with the term from the Latin pileatus meaning "capped".
context_section_description: Adults are 40 to 49 cm (16 to 19 in) long, span 66 to 75 cm (26 to 30 in) across the wings, and weigh 250 to 400 g (8.8 to 14.1 oz), with an average weight of 300 g (11 oz). Each wing measures 21.4 to 25.3 cm (8.4 to 10.0 in), the tail measures 14.0 to 17.4 cm (5.5 to 6.9 in), the bill is 4.1 to 6.0 cm (1.6 to 2.4 in) and the tarsus measures 3.1 to 3.8 cm (1.2 to 1.5 in). They are mainly black with a red crest, and have a white line down the sides of the throat. They show white on the wings in flight. The flight of these birds is strong and direct, but undulates in the way characteristic of woodpeckers. Adult males have a red line from the bill to the throat, in adult females these are black. Two species found in the Old World, the white-bellied and black woodpeckers, are closely related and occupy the same ecological niche in their respective ranges that the pileated occupies in North America. The only North American birds of similar plumage and size were the ivory-billed woodpecker of the southeastern United States and Cuba (last sighted in 1948), and the related imperial woodpecker of Mexico (last sighted in 1956), both of which are presumed to be extinct.
caption: Plate 111 of the Birds of America by John James Audubon, depicting pileated woodpeckers (1 ♀, 3 ♂♂)
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