Pileated Woodpecker

(Dryocopus pileatus) 

One of our more theatrical birds, the pileated woodpecker is about the size of a crow, with a prominent red crest and a bold white stripe running down its throat. It prefers mature woodlands with dead trees that can provide it with insects for food, and in which it can excavate nesting sites. As its smaller cousins, the pileated is formidably armed with adaptations for pecking 8,000 -12,000 times a day, with a force 1,000 times gravity behind each peck, and all that without giving itself a concussion! The bird in this photo is contemplating de-bugging one of the rope supports along the Nature Trail.