![]() Even if they use the same tree, each bird has its own roosting cavity - probably because their large size would make sharing a cavity an uncomfortable proposition! Roost trees tend to have multiple entrances to allow birds to escape predators. Photo by Collins93, ShutterstockĪlthough Pileated Woodpecker pairs share a territory throughout the year, male and female birds roost separately at night. Or does it perhaps sound like a ramped-up Acorn Woodpecker? You make the call - compare Woody with both species below! Lantz's wife Gracie suggested that Walter make a cartoon character of the bird - and so Woody was created.īut credit is due to to the Pileated Woodpecker as well: Woody's shaggy red top-knot much more closely resembles a Pileated Woodpecker, and the cartoon character's characteristic laugh, originally voiced by Mel Blanc of Warner Brothers fame, sounds more like a Pileated Woodpecker's call as well. It turns out that the popular mid-20th century cartoon character Woody Woodpecker was actually inspired by a persistent Acorn Woodpecker that staged a cameo during animator Walter Lantz's honeymoon, calling and drumming at the couple's cabin. The cartoon connection is a bit more involved. Why is the bird is named “pileated?” There's a simple reason behind that: It derives from the Latin pileatus, meaning "capped." Just one glance at this bird's bright crest explains the name. In the United States, only the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, likely extinct, was bigger. This is the largest of North American woodpeckers. With flashing black-and-white wings and a bright red crest, when a crow-sized Pileated Woodpecker swoops by, even the most experienced birders stop in their tracks. ![]() Map by Birds of the World, maintained by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Barbs on the tip grab the prey while a sticky saliva holds onto it.The Pileated Woodpecker is resident across its range. It extends this amazing tongue several inches to reach the grub. The bird’s tongue, perfectly adapted for the job of insect extraction, is so long that it wraps around the bird’s skull and right eye when retracted. The woodpecker will bore into a tree until it reaches a grub’s tunnel. Insects comprise 75 to 95 per cent of the Hairy Woodpecker’s diet, with wood-boring beetle larvae topping the list of favorites. In winter, depending on your surrounding habitat, the hairy can become a regular visitor to your suet feeder, though it tends to be a bit more cautious than the other birds. It breeds here in Connecticut, preferring mature forests and wooded swamps, and less frequently, orchards and wooded urban parks. Like the Downy, it can be found throughout most of North America, though it is not as abundant. The Downy Woodpeckers has a larger, look-alike cousin, the Hairy Woodpeckers ( Picoides villosus). This Downy is as big as a Red-bellied Woodpeckers, a full two and a half inches longer than the little Downy you are used to seeing. There is no mistaking the black and white pattern on the head and wings, the white belly and large white patch on the back. As you glance out the window, you notice a Downy Woodpecker fly to a nearby tree trunk and survey the area. These familiar neighbors enjoy your offerings and in return they put on a daily show for you as they flit down to the suet to break off small pieces of the fat that will help them to survive another frigid day. Your backyard suet feeder attracts several species of birds each winter, including Black-capped Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, White-breasted Nuthatches, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, and Downy Woodpeckers. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Diners and the Wildlife That Frequent Them.Tiny Jumping Spiders Are Endearing Predators.The Yellow-rumped Warbler Endured This Winter. ![]() The Ancient Loon Struggles With Modern Threats.Seals Visit Long Island Sound in Winter.November Welcomes the Witch-Hazel’s Blooms.Neotropical Migrants and White-tailed Deer.Least Tern – Diminutive and Diminishing.Jack-In-The-Pulpit – An Unusual Wildflower.It Glides Through The Air With The Greatest Of Ease.Freshwater Mussels – Hitchhikers on Fish.Flying Ants and the Birds That Love Them.Blue Jays, Beech Trees, Black Bears, and Beech Bark Disease – A Complex Relationship.A Touch of the Tropics in Connecticut’s Woods.Asian Longhorned Beetle Poses Serious Threat. ![]() Ants Are More than Just a Delicious Meal.American Eels Are Common in Local Waters.American Crows – Intelligent Opportunists. ![]()
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