The Flashy Pileated Woodpecker

This very cool guy stopped by our alley today. He’d spent some time in our suet feeder first. You can tell it’s a male by the red cheek patch. On females it’s dark grey.

Pileated woodpeckers, besides being one of the most extraordinary-looking birds in North America, are the continent’s largest woodpecker. This one is probably 17″ from head to tail.

Their numbers declined dramatically in the early 20th Century, due mostly to logging and hunting. They’ve adapted well to the modern world, however, and their numbers have recovered nicely. Today they’re considered fairly common in both Canada and the U.S.