These large (17 inches - 43 cm) birds are quite pretty unless they happen to be boring holes in a beautiful pine tree in front of your house (as was the case with this woodpecker). These guys are serious excavators as can be seen the by the freshly made hole in the tree. When the photo was taken the bird was about halfway done making this hole. Fortunately for my pine tree, which is still (so far) very much alive, this woodpecker finally left after only boring three holes.
The photo on the right shows what can happen when a pileated woodpecker gets serious about boring holes in a tree. The tree was already dead when the woodpecker went to town on it. However, the tree just beside it shows evidence of old, partially healed, pileated woodpecker holes, indicating that those holes were made when the tree was still alive.
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