A large forest woodpecker that can visit a spacious wooded yard when old trees, dead wood, and natural insect habitat remain.
By Birdly Yard Editorial TeamReviewed Updated
Local season
Months with a state-level historical signal for this species.
Choose a starting point for Pileated Woodpecker. Open a setup to see the supplies, steps and checks for your location.
Locally suitable plants with ripe fruit
See setup & checksBlack-oil seed + a raised platform
See setup & checksResource illustrations are not complete nest-box designs or a promise of visits.
Carpenter ants are a principal food, along with other ants and wood-boring insect larvae. Fruit and nuts also contribute. Deep rectangular excavations in rotting trunks or logs are a useful foraging clue. Suet may draw an occasional visitor, but mature trees and safe decaying wood provide the natural food habitat.
They excavate a tree cavity, often in a large dead tree. A typical clutch contains 3–5 white eggs, with incubation lasting about 15–18 days. Preserve safe cavity trees and observe from a distance; never tap on a trunk or inspect an active cavity to check for eggs.
Status
Backyard reports
Look for it
Listen for loud drumming and calls around mature trees, standing dead wood, stumps, and fallen logs.
Food
Mostly carpenter ants, other ants, wood-boring beetle larvae, termites, and insects, with some wild fruit and nuts.
Nesting
Natural nesting guidance
Mature deciduous or mixed forest, large trees, decaying wood, and patches of woodland in suburban areas support normal use.
Mostly carpenter ants, other ants, wood-boring beetle larvae, termites, and insects, with some wild fruit and nuts.
A sturdy suet feeder can be a supplement, but decaying logs and safe standing dead wood are far more important than food handouts.
Excavates a deep cavity in a large tree, commonly dead wood; old cavities later shelter many other wildlife species.
Excavates long rectangular holes in rotten wood and probes deeply with its long tongue for ants and larvae.
Photograph from a distance at a foraging log; never approach or tap on an active cavity.
Do not remove every snag or fallen log without checking safety first; retain safe habitat wood whenever possible.
Continue exploring
Compare food, habitat and nesting. Local seasonal records vary by species.
