Cool Facts About a Cool Bird!

Who is that bird out there that looks suspiciously like Woody Woodpecker?

Cool Fact #1

The fact of the matter is, that bird (the Pileated Woodpecker) was, in fact, the inspiration for the world famous cartoon character.

Cool Fact #2

The roost of a Pileated Woodpecker usually has multiple entrance holes and is normally located  in old growth forests where one finds the large trees it prefers.  

Cool Fact #3

Pileated Woodpeckers characteristically dig rectangular holes in trees to find ants.  These excavations can be so large that they can cause small trees to break in half.

Cool Fact #4

A Pileated Woodpecker pair stays together on its territory year round.  Their range covers the the eastern half of the United States as well as the southern Canadian provinces, with a rather narrow band extending down the West Coast of the U.S.  We in Missouri are fortunate to be in their year round range.

Cool Fact #5

The male and female can be told apart by their markings.  The male has a red crown and forehead, and red in the black mustache stripe.  The female has a gray to yellow-brown forehead and no red in the mustache stripe.

Cool Fact #6

When walking in the woods you may hear rather than see these large crow sized birds.  They can be heard calling to each other with a very loud "kuk-kuk-kuk" call.  Usually if you hear one call you will soon hear a response from another direction.