Pileated Woodpecker Feeding Chicks In The Nest

3 years ago
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The pileated woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) is a large, mostly black woodpecker native to North America. An insectivore, it inhabits deciduous forests in eastern North America, the Great Lakes, the boreal forests of Canada, and parts of the Pacific Coast. It is the largest common woodpecker in the U.S., possibly second to the critically endangered or extinct ivory-billed.
"Pileated" refers to the bird's prominent red crest, from the Latin pileatus meaning "capped"
Pileated woodpeckers 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.

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