Male Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus)
Naples Botanical Gardens
60 Acre Wildlife Reserve
Naples, FL
Click on image to enlarge.
Another look at this marvelous bird. He was pecking away at the hole in search of insects. Sometimes his head was completely inside the hole. He kept on weaving from side to side, and sometimes it looked like he stopped to check things out in case of danger. His head movements were very quick, and the sound of his pecking was very loud.
The pileated woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) is a woodpecker native to North America. This insectivorous bird is a mostly sedentary 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 on the continent, after the critically endangered ivory-billed woodpecker. The term "pileated" refers to the bird's prominent red crest, with the term from the Latin pileatus meaning "capped".
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 flight of these birds is strong and direct but undulates in the way characteristic of woodpeckers.
Their breeding habitat is forested areas across Canada, the eastern United States, and parts of the Pacific Coast. This bird favors mature forests and heavily wooded parks. They specifically prefer mesic habitats with large, mature hardwood trees, often being found in large tracts of forest. However, they also inhabit smaller woodlots as long as they have a scattering of tall trees.
These birds mainly eat insects, especially carpenter ants and wood-boring beetle larvae. They also eat fruits, nuts, and berries, including poison ivy berries. Pileated woodpeckers often chip out large and roughly rectangular holes in trees while searching out insects, especially ant colonies. They also lap up ants by reaching with their long tongues into crevices. Pileated woodpeckers may also forage on or near the ground, especially around fallen, dead trees, which can contain a variety of insect life. - Wikipedia
Male Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus)
Naples Botanical Gardens
60 Acre Wildlife Reserve
Naples, FL
Click on image to enlarge.
Another look at this marvelous bird. He was pecking away at the hole in search of insects. Sometimes his head was completely inside the hole. He kept on weaving from side to side, and sometimes it looked like he stopped to check things out in case of danger. His head movements were very quick, and the sound of his pecking was very loud.
The pileated woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) is a woodpecker native to North America. This insectivorous bird is a mostly sedentary 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 on the continent, after the critically endangered ivory-billed woodpecker. The term "pileated" refers to the bird's prominent red crest, with the term from the Latin pileatus meaning "capped".
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 flight of these birds is strong and direct but undulates in the way characteristic of woodpeckers.
Their breeding habitat is forested areas across Canada, the eastern United States, and parts of the Pacific Coast. This bird favors mature forests and heavily wooded parks. They specifically prefer mesic habitats with large, mature hardwood trees, often being found in large tracts of forest. However, they also inhabit smaller woodlots as long as they have a scattering of tall trees.
These birds mainly eat insects, especially carpenter ants and wood-boring beetle larvae. They also eat fruits, nuts, and berries, including poison ivy berries. Pileated woodpeckers often chip out large and roughly rectangular holes in trees while searching out insects, especially ant colonies. They also lap up ants by reaching with their long tongues into crevices. Pileated woodpeckers may also forage on or near the ground, especially around fallen, dead trees, which can contain a variety of insect life. - Wikipedia