The Pileated Woodpecker

The Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) is one of the biggest, most striking forest birds on the continent. It’s nearly the size of a crow, black with bold white stripes down the neck and a flaming-red crest. The Pileated Woodpecker is such an impressive sight that many people believe the bird is rarer than it is. It resides from Nova Scotia and Ontario south to Texas and Florida and west through central Canada to British Columbia and northern California. Habitat.

Pileated Woodpeckers are mostly black with white stripes on the face and neck and a flaming-red crest. Males have a red stripe on the cheek. In flight, the bird reveals extensive white underwings and small white crescents on the upper side, at the bases of the primaries. It can be found in deep forests, swamps, open woodlands, large parks, and suburban areas, where large tracts of trees have been spared. It requires fairly large territories but adapts well to regenerating areas and second-growth forest.

https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/pileated-woodpecker
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pileated_Woodpecker/id