---
title: "What the sources say about the Pileated Woodpecker | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "40 claims from the Pileated Woodpecker profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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---

# What the sources say about the Pileated Woodpecker (*Dryocopus pileatus*)

> 40 claims from the Pileated Woodpecker profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Pileated Woodpecker](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/pileated-woodpecker/)

## Collinson (2007). Video analysis of the escape flight of Pileated Woodpecker Dryocopus pileatus: does the Ivory-billed Woodpecker Campephilus principalis persist in continental North America? BMC Biology.

https://doi.org/10.1186/1741-7007-5-8

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Filmed fleeing, pileated woodpeckers flap rapidly just after take-off, then settle into a more relaxed level flight. | The Pileated woodpeckers in DN's video do not do this – after initial rapid flapping immediately after take-off, they settle into a more relaxed level flight. (note: escape flights of known pileated woodpeckers filmed for the study) |

## Hylatomus pileatus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2025: e.T22681363A140984457.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2025-2.rlts.t22681363a140984457.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Least Concern | Least Concern (note: stats.conservationStatus; GBIF copy of the Red List) |

## Dryocopus pileatus (pileated woodpecker). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Dryocopus_pileatus/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Deciduous and coniferous forests across southern Canada and the eastern, midwestern and western United States, resident year-round | A permanent resident of deciduous or coniferous forests in southern Canada and in the western, midwestern, and eastern United States (note: stats.habitat) |
| Deciduous and coniferous forests | A permanent resident of deciduous or coniferous forests in southern Canada (note: stats.habitat) |
| Carpenter ants and wood-boring beetle larvae, plus wild fruits and nuts | This woodpecker feeds on insects, primarily carpenter ants and woodboring beetle larvae; also wild fruits and nuts. (note: stats.diet) |
| A barbed, sticky, stretchy tongue that hauls ants out of tunnels inside wood | uses its long, extensible, pointed tongue with barbs and sticky saliva to catch and extract ants from tunnels (note: stats.superpower) |
| Its bill is chisel-shaped, and it pries off long slivers of wood to open up the tunnels where ants live. | chisel-shaped bill (note: body) |
| it pries off long slivers of wood to open up the tunnels where ants live | It pries off long slivers of wood to expose ant galleries. (note: body) |
| Its tongue is long, stretchy and pointed, with barbs and sticky saliva that snag ants out of their tunnels. | long, extensible, pointed tongue with barbs and sticky saliva to catch and extract ants from tunnels (note: blockquote) |
| the largest woodpecker found in most of North America, with a dull black body and a red crest | The Pileated Woodpecker is the largest woodpecker found in most of North America. (note: body) |
| a dull black body and a red crest | is best recognized by its large, dull black body and red crest (note: body) |
| an average adult is about 364 grams | Average mass 364 g (note: body) |
| Pileated woodpeckers live year-round in forests across southern Canada and the eastern, midwestern and western United States, from Nova Scotia south to Florida. | A permanent resident of deciduous or coniferous forests in southern Canada and in the western, midwestern, and eastern United States (note: body; Nova Scotia to Florida in the habitat range quote) |
| A nest hole is about 8 inches wide and 2 feet deep | hollows out nests 8 inches wide and 2 feet deep (note: body) |
| those excavations provide habitat for many other species. That makes it a possible keystone species | this woodpecker may be a keystone species because its nest excavations provide habitat for many other species (note: body) |
| It usually drums on a dead, resonant tree, and the drumming is used to proclaim a territory. | Drumming usually occurs atop a dead tree that resonates sound (note: body) |
| Mostly insects, especially carpenter ants and the larvae of wood-boring beetles. | This woodpecker feeds on insects, primarily carpenter ants and woodboring beetle larvae (note: faq) |
| It catches the ants with its tongue, which it can extend into their tunnels and which carries barbs and sticky saliva. | long, extensible, pointed tongue with barbs and sticky saliva to catch and extract ants from tunnels (note: faq) |
| Drumming is used to proclaim a territory. | Drumming is used to proclaim a territory. |
| They prefer to nest in moist areas close to streams. | Prefers to nest in mesic areas, close to streams (note: mesic = moderately moist) |
| It drums most often in the morning, and more often in early spring as courtship begins. | most frequent in the morining, but can occur through the day and increases in frequency during early spring as courtship activities begin (note: body; "morining" is the source's typo) |
| A pileated woodpecker usually drums on a dead, resonant tree to proclaim its territory, most often in the morning. | Drumming usually occurs atop a dead tree that resonates sound (note: vibe.reason) |

## Pileated Woodpecker. National Geographic.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/facts/pileated-woodpecker

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A crow-sized woodpecker that chisels rectangular holes into trees to reach the ants inside. | These crow-sized birds present a memorable sight (note: tagline, crow-sized) |
| chisels rectangular holes into trees to reach the ants inside | digging large, rectangular holes in trees (note: tagline) |
| The holes it digs are big and rectangular, and they can be large enough to weaken a smaller tree or even snap it in half. | These holes can be so large that they weaken smaller trees or even cause them to break in half. (note: body) |
| Its body runs 16 to 19 inches long and its wingspan is 26 to 30 inches. | Body: 16 to 19 inches; wingspan: 26 to 30 inches (note: body) |
| It weighs 8.8 to 12.3 ounces | Weight : 8.8 to 12.3 ounces (note: body) |
| Logging in the 19th and 20th centuries cut pileated numbers in eastern North America. As many of those forests have grown back in recent decades, woodpecker species have grown in number with them. | In eastern North America, pileated woodpeckers declined as their forest habitats were systematically logged in the 19th and 20th centuries. In recent decades, many forests have regenerated, and woodpecker species have enjoyed corresponding growth. (note: body) |
| It is about crow-sized. | These crow-sized birds present a memorable sight (note: faq) |
| a weight of 8.8 to 12.3 ounces | Weight : 8.8 to 12.3 ounces (note: faq) |
| woodpecker species have grown in number with them | woodpecker species have enjoyed corresponding growth (note: body) |
| Crow-Sized, Zebra-Faced | These crow-sized birds present a memorable sight with their zebra-striped heads and necks (note: heading) |
| a body 16 to 19 inches long, a wingspan of 26 to 30 inches | Body: 16 to 19 inches; wingspan: 26 to 30 inches (note: faq) |

## AnAge entry for Dryocopus pileatus. AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database.

https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Dryocopus_pileatus

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The database AnAge lists a maximum recorded longevity of 13 years in the wild. | Maximum longevity 13 years (wild) (note: body, faq) |
| AnAge lists a maximum longevity of 13 years in the wild, drawn from the Bird Banding Laboratory's longevity records. | Maximum longevity 13 years (wild) (note: faq; ref [427] is BBL - Longevity Records of North American Birds) |

## Raley & Aubry (2006). Foraging Ecology of Pileated Woodpeckers in Coastal Forests of Washington. Journal of Wildlife Management.

https://doi.org/10.2193/0022-541x(2006)70[1266:feopwi]2.0.co;2

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| carpenter ants made up more than half of what these birds ate | Pileated woodpeckers primarily consumed carpenter ants (note: body; the abstract gives 54 percent of diet (written 54%% in the cached text)) |
| with beetle larvae and termites filling in during the breeding season | round-headed beetle larvae (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae) and dampwood termites (Isoptera, Termopsidae) were important food items during the breeding season (note: body) |
| In one study of coastal forests in Washington State | we studied food habits of pileated woodpeckers in coastal forests (note: body) |

## Bull & Meslow (1988). Breeding biology of the pileated woodpecker—management implications. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station.

https://doi.org/10.2737/pnw-rn-474

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A study of 123 nests in northeastern Oregon found birds breeding at a year old | We located and studied 123 pileated woodpecker ( Dryocopus pileatus ) nests from 1973 to 1983 in northeastern Oregon (note: body) |
| found birds breeding at a year old, and some surviving to at least nine | These birds nested at 1 year of age, and some lived at least 9 years (note: body) |