Rehab's Pretty Patient- the Pileated Woodpecker

Our Wildlife Education & Rehabilitation Program has a fascinating and beautiful avian patient in treatment this week—a pileated woodpecker that suffered head trauma, most likely after flying into a window.

Pileated woodpeckers are similar in size to a crow and are the largest woodpeckers found in the majority of North America. The call of the pileated woodpecker has a loud and resonant “kuk-kuk-kuk” sound. Listen to their call by clicking here.

These birds also have a distinctive red crest on their heads and live in deciduous and coniferous forests with large trees, which they prefer for nesting. The pileated woodpecker will create a nesting cavity in a dead tree and empty it completely except for wood shavings.

Pileated woodpeckers also engage in an unusual behavior in searching for food. They dig rectangular holes in trees to search for ants. Sometimes, when digging holes in small trees, they create holes so deep that the tree may actually break in half!

The pileated woodpecker population encountered a large decline with the clearing of eastern forests, but their numbers have been making a comeback since the mid-20th century. They are not considered to be a species of concern.

If you see a bird or other animal that you believe to be injured, or if you have backyard wildlife questions, please contact Lake Erie Nature & Science Center at (440) 871-2900.