This is the largest woodpecker likely to be seen in North America. Blackish overall, with a dark bill and a red crest on both sexes. The throat is white. A white line extends below the eye and down the neck to the side of the breast. Malar stripes are black on females, red on males. Males show an entirely red crown, while the female’s crown is blackish in front. In flight: From above, shows small white patches at the base of the primaries. From below, the wing coverts and bases of the flight feathers are white, while the trailing half of the wing is black.

Length: 42 (cm) Wingspan: 69 (cm)

Voice:

A loud series of cuk-cuk-cuk-cuk-cuk notes, similar to Northern Flicker.

Habitat:

Mature forests. Will use younger forests if large dead trees are available for roosting.

Behavior:

Creates rectangular holes in logs when feeding. Extremely powerful, often dislodges large wood chips when excavating a nest hole or drilling for food.

Feeding:

Drills for carpenter ants and wood-boring beetles on both standing and downed trees.