This woodpecker was hard to photograph. As soon as I got close enough for this photo, he moved. Unfortunately, he moved to a lower branch and I would have had a much better photo....if I hadn't run out of film at that moment. Better luck next time!

Pileated woodpeckers are the largest North American woodpeckers. They are about the size of a crow, about 16 inches long. The wingspan can be 29 inches. They weigh about 10 ounces. They are black and white, with a large red crest on the head. 

Pileated woodpeckers live in mature forests. They can be heard tapping on trees for a long distance. The call is loud and distinctive.

Their preferred food is carpenter ants. These large ants live in old rotten logs and standing dead trees, eating the wood and helping to decompose it and return the nutrients to the forest. The pileated woodpecker will excavate large holes in search of these big ants.  The holes they make while feeding can vary, but are sometimes rectangular.

Pileated woodpeckers also excavate nest holes. These are round, in contrast to their feeding holes. The large holes abandoned by the woodpeckers are used by other animals as nest holes, or as shelter.

Pileated woodpecker feeding sign on an old log. Note the somewhat rectangular shape of the excavations. If you look closely, you can see the ant tunnels in the wood. If the woodpecker is feeding on beetles, you can sometimes find the beetle frass in the excavations. Beetle frass is sawdust that has gone through the beetle's digestive tract.

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