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Pileated Woodpecker Sounds

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ID info
Life History
Maps
Sounds

Calls
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New York, January 01, 1989Recorded by William Evans | Macaulay Library
Calls
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Oregon, April 19, 1992Recorded by Dave Herr | Macaulay Library
Drum
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Oregon, May 09, 1992Recorded by Dave Herr | Macaulay Library

Sounds provided by Macaulay Library.
Listen to more sounds of this species from the ML archive.

Calls

Pileated Woodpeckers are quite vocal, typically making a high, clear, series of piping calls that lasts several seconds. The sound is quite similar to a Northern Flicker’s rattling call, although it tends to be more resonant and less even in tone, with changing emphasis or rhythm during the call. Pileated Woodpeckers also give shorter calls that sound like wuk, wuk or cuk, cuk to indicate a territory boundary or to give an alarm.

Other Sounds

Both sexes drum powerfully on trees at any time of the year, typically a fairly slow, deep rolling that lasts about 3 seconds. Males drum in late winter to establish and defend a territory, both sexes drum as part of courtship, and either sex may drum to solicit mating, to summon a mate from a distance, or in response to an intruder near a nest.

Compare with Similar Species

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Red-headed Woodpecker Adult is similar to Pileated Woodpecker

Red-headed Woodpecker

American Crow Adult  is similar to Pileated Woodpecker

Species in This Family

Woodpeckers(Order: Piciformes, Family:Picidae)

Downy Woodpecker

Downy Woodpecker

Nuttall's Woodpecker

Nuttall's Woodpecker

Ladder-backed Woodpecker

Ladder-backed Woodpecker

Red-cockaded Woodpecker

Red-cockaded Woodpecker

Hairy Woodpecker

Hairy Woodpecker

White-headed Woodpecker

White-headed Woodpecker

Arizona Woodpecker

Arizona Woodpecker

Lewis's Woodpecker

Lewis's Woodpecker

Red-headed Woodpecker

Red-headed Woodpecker

Acorn Woodpecker

Acorn Woodpecker

Gila Woodpecker

Gila Woodpecker

Golden-fronted Woodpecker

Golden-fronted Woodpecker

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Williamson's Sapsucker

Williamson's Sapsucker

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Red-naped Sapsucker

Red-naped Sapsucker

Red-breasted Sapsucker

Red-breasted Sapsucker

American Three-toed Woodpecker

American Three-toed Woodpecker

Black-backed Woodpecker

Black-backed Woodpecker

Northern Flicker

Northern Flicker

Pileated Woodpecker

Pileated Woodpecker

Ivory-billed Woodpecker

Ivory-billed Woodpecker

Browse Species in This Family

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Pileated Woodpecker

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