Pileated woodpecker

I was told, by a naturalist on a hike at Lake Minnewaska earlier this summer, that big rectangular holes like this one in a dead hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) are made by pileated woodpeckers (Dryocopus pileatus) looking for insects.

Pileated woodpeckers are crow-sized and the largest woodpecker in North America.  They're year-round inhabitants of forests here in the Hudson Valley but relatively shy and hard to spot.  Once seen, however, they're easy to recognize due to the distinctive red crest on the back of their heads (both males and females).  The generic name Dryocopus means "oak-tree cutter" and pileatus refers to a "skullcap" and obviously due to the bird's bright red crest.

Image from Wikipedia

Pileated woodpeckers have a distinctive call (listen here).  I do hear them occassionally in the woods behind my house and have also heard them on hikes on the Shawangunk Ridge.  I also hear drumming sometimes but I'm not sure if it's a pileated or one of the other local woodpeckers (in the winter, hairy (Picoides villosus) and red-bellied (Melanerpes carolinus) woodpeckers are frequently seen at our suet feeder.  I've only seen a pileated woodpecker once, briefly, on a tree across the road from my house a few summers ago.

Next time you're out hiking, take a little time to sit quietly in the woods and listed for a bit.  You might hear the wild laughter of this amazing bird.