The Pileated Woodpecker

Today I'm going to tell you about the Pileated Woodpecker.

Now, first off, I'm sorry but I couldn't upload a picture to show you all. Again, sorry.

Anyway, the Pileated Woodpecker is the SECOND largest species of woodpecker in the world, coming up close to the Imperial Woodpecker (If it's not extinct.). It is however the largest woodpecker in North America reaching sizes of 18 inches (The Imperial reaching up to 24 inches, but enough about them. Distracting me!) and reaching in at a weight of 12 pounds. It is well known for killing large amounts of trees, a quarter of a forest if possible, to get to the insects inside. They're basically living jack hammers! Both males and females have a large red crest on their head, but the ideal way to tell the difference (Unless you happen to see the female lay an egg,) is males have a red stripe going along the back side of their beak and females are slightly smaller. If you just looked at the body you wouldn't tell the difference, both are black and white striped. These woodpeckers are found almost everywhere in North America, depending on where you live you might see one. I'm in Florida and I've only seen one in person for a split second in my Magnolia Tree. It seemed to be looking for something. These birds love to eat things such as bug larvae and bugs themselves. They aren't picky eaters.These birds are both friend and enemy, frienenemy. They kill trees in order to get to their bugs and make homes, but when they move on they leave homes for other animals and if the tree falls over it is fertilizer for the ground. So the next time you see a Pileated Woodpecker in your tree, don't scare it off. We need them :D.

That's my report on the Pileated Woodpecker. I got the info from www.wikipedia.com. The End