Unlimited edition. 18 x 24 inch, museum-quality poster on matte paper.

Roughly the size of a crow, but with its mostly black plumage set off by bold white and crimson face paint, the pileated woodpecker is an unforgettable bird. In fact, when individuals first experience the joy of bird watching and start learning about birds of the world, the pileated woodpecker is often added to their must-see shortlist, especially if they’re living in North America, where the bird occurs.

In-person encounters with this large woodpecker don’t disappoint. Usually, before you see it, you hear it. Its call sounds like a woodpecker’s impression of a perturbed farmyard hen, a series of resonant pipe-clucks that can be heard for quite a distance. The large woodpecker will also announce its presence (for courtship as well as territorial displays) by drumming its powerful bill on standing deadwood to produce an impressive roll or deep, slow rattle. Its (almost certainly) extinct relative, the ivory-billed woodpecker (Campephilus principalis), is nicknamed the “Lord God Bird” – perhaps, then, the pileated woodpecker is the “Baron Demigod Bird.” It may be slightly smaller and a little less dramatic in appearance, but it’s what we’ve got….and what we’ve got is pretty wonderful!

The pileated woodpecker primarily feeds on carpenter ants. Depending on the habits and habitat of individual birds, ants make up 40 – 97% of pileated woodpecker diets, but they will eat other insects (especially wood-boring beetle larvae and termites) as well as fruits and nuts. (This is one of many, many species that dines on poison ivy and poison oak berries – more reason to give these typically loathed plant species some appreciation.)  The woodpecker’s rectangular feeding excavations are so substantial that they serve as shelter for other animals, including swifts, bats, and small owls, and they expose so many insects that other woodpecker species as well as wrens and warblers have been observed at the all-you-can-eat buffets the larger birds create. Even larger, the pileated woodpecker’s roosting and nesting cavities are often inherited by nesting wood ducks, raccoons, and larger owls. This bird pays it forward!

Monogamous birds that form life-long pair bonds, the pair stays on their territory year-round. Although the species prefers intact forests, they do well in suburban forests, too, provided there are large trees and, ideally, some remaining deadwood.

Note: These archival poster prints feature rich, appealing colors. I encourage customers to take care in handling them until they are framed/protected for display; the darker colors on the matte paper can be scratched. They ship rolled, so customers need to flatten them before framing (or have their framer do so).

Charitable Sales Model: Whenever one of these poster prints is purchased, a charitable contribution equal to 10% of the print’s cost (or $3.60) is made to a nonprofit working to tackle environmental or social challenges. Read more about my charitable sales model here.