Pileated woodpecker

Dryocopus pileatus

The Pileated woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) is a bird found in United States and Canada. Mature forests of North America. It eats insects and other small invertebrates, fruit and seeds and nuts. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

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Scientific name	Dryocopus pileatus
Region	North America
Found in	United States and Canada

🏡 Where the Pileated woodpecker lives

Mature forests of North America.

🍽️ What it eats

🐛 Insects & bugs70%
🍎 Fruit20%
🌰 Seeds & nuts10%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

LCNTVUENCREWEX

Least ConcernThere are plenty of these birds.

💡 Its flaming red crest gives it away, and it drums on trees to find food and send messages.

Hear the Pileated woodpecker

Recorded by Brian Hendrix (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC570955. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Pileated woodpecker

Where does the Pileated woodpecker live?

The Pileated woodpecker lives in United States and Canada. Mature forests of North America.

What does the Pileated woodpecker eat?

insects and other small invertebrates (about 70%), fruit (about 20%), seeds and nuts (about 10%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Pileated woodpecker endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from North America

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.