If you hear a loud hammering sound in the woods, you may be listening to a pileated woodpecker. It's one of the largest woodpecker species in North America. (The imperial woodpecker of eastern Mexico, and the ivory-billed woodpecker of the southeastern United States, which may be extinct, are larger.)
The look of a pileated woodpecker is unmistakable. It's a large black bird with white on each side of its neck and a red crest on its head. When it flies, white flashes are visible under its wings. The pileated woodpecker is the only woodpecker in North America that is big, black, and has a red crest.
The sound of the pileated woodpecker's hammering carries a long distance through the woods where they live. These woodpeckers drum to attract mates and to establish the boundaries of their territory—warning other males away.
