Woodpeckers are a worldwide phenomenon and a delight for bird enthusiasts. More than two hundred species practice their formidable woodworking skills across the globe, except in a few places. To me, woodpeckers have some of the most remarkable adaptations in the bird world.
Kevin McGowan, Ph.D
I was on a recent trek on the boardwalk at Lettuce Lake park, a gem in the Tampa area. I heard the tapping of a woodpecker and spotted a wonderful pileated woodpecker hammering his sturdy beak into the bark of a downed tree, pecking away for insects.
The pileated is a big, dashing bird with a flaming crest, the largest woodpecker in North America. This species became rare in eastern North America with clearing of forests in centuries past but has gradually increased in numbers again since about the beginning of the 20th century.
It is around 17″ (43 cm). It is mostly black, with a red crest and white stripe on the neck. The white under wings flashes in flight. The bird’s forehead and mustache are red on male, black on female.
What do these amazing creatures eat? The pileated woodpecker’s primary food is carpenter ants, supplemented by other ants, woodboring beetle larvae, termites, and other insects such as flies, spruce budworm, caterpillars, cockroaches, and grasshoppers. They also eat wild fruits and nuts, including greenbrier, hackberry, sassafras, blackberries, sumac berries, poison ivy, holly, dogwood, persimmon, and elderberry. In some diet studies, ants constituted 40 percent of the diet, and up to 97 percent in some individuals.
Nest Description
The male begins excavating the nest cavity and does most of the work, but the female contributes, particularly as the hole nears completion. The entrance hole is oblong rather than the circular shape of most woodpecker holes. For the finishing touches, the bird climbs all the way into the hole and chips away at it from the inside. Periodically the adult picks up several chips at a time in its bill and tosses them from the cavity entrance. Pileated woodpeckers don’t line their nests with any material except for leftover wood chips. The nest construction usually takes 3-6 weeks, and nests are rarely reused in later years. Cavity depth can range from 10-24 inches.
• The pileated woodpecker digs characteristically rectangular holes in trees to find ants. These excavations can be so broad and deep that they can cause small trees to break in half.
• The feeding excavations of a pileated woodpecker are so extensive that they often attract other birds. Other woodpeckers, as well as house wrens, may come and feed there.
• The pileated woodpecker prefers large trees for nesting. In young forests, it will use any large trees remaining from before the forest was cut. Because these trees are larger than the rest of the forest, they present a lightning hazard to the nesting birds.
• A pileated woodpecker pair stays together on its territory all year round. It will defend the territory in all seasons but will tolerate new arrivals during the winter.
Thank you to Audubon and All About Birds (Cornell)
WHERE CAN YOU FIND THIS SPECTACULAR BIRD?
Get out into The Great Florida Outdoors!
Dr. Robert Norman
Clinical Professor of Dermatology
Director–Center for Geriatric Dermatology, Integrative Dermatology and Neuro-Dermatology
10820 Sheldon Rd
Tampa, Florida 33626
10422 US Hwy 301 S
Riverview, Florida 33578
Dr. Norman is an advanced master naturalist graduate of the FMNP program from UF and a board-certified dermatologist based in Tampa and Riverview. He can be reached at 813-880-7546.
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Tampa Bay Medical Hero Award (2008)
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