male; red on crown as well as crest; big bill (Michigan, USA; 2006-08-22)


Pileated Woodpecker
Dryocopus pileatus

Native Range: North America

Notes: North America's largest extant woodpecker (assuming the Ivory-billed Woodpecker is indeed extinct); anyone suggesting that they have seen the latter must first prove that it was not a common Pileated Woodpecker instead; flies with a characteristic rowing motion; drills oblong holes in trees and rips apart rotting logs in search of grubs.

dorsal view; black back and wings (Michigan, USA; 2006-08-22)
ventral view; white stripes on head and neck (Michigan, USA; 2006-08-22)

excavates large oblong holes in trees (Michigan, USA; 2006-08-22)