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Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus)

© Charles H. Warren

Length: 14-18.5 in.
Habitat: mature forests.

The slow, rhythmic hammering of a Pileated woodpecker may be mistaken for the sound of a man chopping down a tree. With powerful whacks the birds digs a large rectangular or oval hole deep into the heart of a tree infested with carpenter ants, a principal food. Fresh chips at the base of a tree indicate a hole that is still being dug.