Bird guide · Dryocopus pileatus
Pileated Woodpecker
What the pileated woodpecker eats, where it lives, when it comes to feeders and how to recognise it – with sightings from every US state.
- Season
- Year-round resident
- Size
- 17.5 in (44.5 cm)
- Eats
- suet
- Feeds
- suet cage
- Most common
- West Virginia, Virginia, Arkansas
Food
What do pileated woodpeckers eat?
At feeders, pileated woodpeckers take suet.
Less frequent at feeders than smaller woodpeckers, but may come to suet in harsh winters.
Feeder that suits it
A suet cage on a tree trunk or pole; peanuts and sunflower hearts work too.
Range
Where do pileated woodpeckers live?
Forests across much of North America; also parks and woodlots near large cities. By share of all bird sightings, pileated woodpeckers are most common in West Virginia (1.3%).
States where pileated woodpeckers are most common
- West Virginia1.3%
- Virginia1.0%
- Arkansas1.0%
- Florida0.9%
- Indiana0.9%
- Maryland0.9%
- Georgia0.9%
- South Carolina0.9%
- Tennessee0.9%
- North Carolina0.8%
Share of all bird sightings in each state that are pileated woodpeckers, 2019–2024.
Season
Does the pileated woodpecker migrate?
Year-round resident. Across the US it is reported in every month; its share of bird sightings is highest in September.
Share of all bird sightings in the US that are pileated woodpeckers, by month.
Identification
How to identify the pileated woodpecker
Adults: Very large, mostly black with a red crest and white neck stripe; red forehead and moustache.
Size: 17.5 in (44.5 cm)
On camera
Getting the pileated woodpecker on a feeder camera
Pick a camera feeder that takes a suet cage, or mount a separate camera next to a suet feeder on the trunk – woodpeckers cling to the bark while they feed.
Questions
Pileated Woodpecker: questions
What do pileated woodpeckers eat?
At feeders, suet.
Do pileated woodpeckers migrate?
Year-round resident. Across the US it is reported in every month; its share of bird sightings is highest in September.
Where do pileated woodpeckers live?
By share of all bird sightings, they are most common in West Virginia, Virginia, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana. They are rare or absent in Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico.
What does a female pileated woodpecker look like?
Similar, but forehead and moustache black.