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Another great colorized coin from Canada brings this collection its first woodpecker: The Pileated Woodpecker, species name Dryocopus pileatus.
The Pileated Woodpecker is either the largest North American woodpecker or the second largest, depending on if the critically endangered Ivory-Billed Woodpecker is actually extinct or not. Most conservation groups and ornithologists believe that the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker is almost certainly extinct as the last verified sighting of one was in 1944 despite large scale searches over their historic range and reported but unconfirmed sightings in the years since 1944. The Pileated Woodpecker is very similar in appearance and behavior to the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker, which is the source of the debate as the two birds can easily be mistaken for one another at a distance or in flight. Size-wise, the Pileated Woodpecker ranges from 16 to 19 inches in length, with a wingspan range of 26 to 30 inches and an average weight of 11 ounces. As this coin is colorized, you can see the coloration of this beautiful modern dinosaur for yourself.
The Pileated Woodpecker is an insectivore, and it pecks through trees and rotted wood seeking insects and their larvae. Pileated Woodpeckers also eat small amounts of plant matter, particularly fruits and berries. They also excavate nests in trees by pecking their distinctive, rectangular shaped crevasses in the trunks of the trees in question. While they are very self-assured and nimble when perching vertically on trees, these guys can be somewhat awkward on branches on vines, which they sometimes stand on to feed as well. Because of their feeding and nesting habits, Pileated Woodpeckers prefer woodlands in the eastern United States and southern Canada for habitat, but some are starting to move into suburban areas with trees, such as parks, woodlots and cemeteries all across its range. As far as predators, eggs are preyed upon by American Martens, weasels, snakes and Grey Foxes. Adults have few predators and all are avians. Pileated Woodpeckers are sometimes taken by Red-Tailed Hawks, Cooper’s Hawks, Great Horned Owls, Northern Goshawks and Barred Owls.
Like raptors and parrots, two groups already represented in this collection, Pileated Woodpeckers mate for life. The pair stays together all year on their chosen territory. Unlike many other birds, which will reuse nests, Pileated Woodpeckers never do. Each year, they excavate a new nest is a completely different tree, using only woodchips as nesting material within the cavity. In April, the pair will produce 3 to 5 eggs, which are incubated by both parents for about 18 days, after which they hatch. Both parents feed the young through regurgitation. There is little indication of siblicidal behavior in this species. The young leave the nest at between 26 and 28 days of age and they often stay with their parents for 2 to 3 months after this, after which they leave to start their adult lives. Pileated Woodpeckers can live for up to 12 years.
The behavior of abandoning nesting cavities after only a single season’s use is vitally important for many other species that share a habitat with Pileated Woodpeckers. The abandoned nesting cavities can provide nests and homes for wrens, songbirds, owls and tree-nesting ducks who could never make such an excavation on their own. Even mammals such as raccoons may make use of abandoned Pileated Woodpecker nests. Pileated Woodpeckers are also important decomposers of dead trees. Overall, this species is of vital importance to all ecosystems it inhabits.
Aside from resembling the likely extinct Ivory-Billed Woodpecker, the Pileated Woodpecker also bears a strong resemblance to a theropod that is definitely extinct: Anchiornis huxleyi. Anchiornis huxleyi, which lived 160 million years ago during the Late Jurassic in what is now China, was the first non-avian dinosaur to have its life appearance accurately determined by scientists. This was made possible by an exquisitely preserved fossil that included preserved melanosomes and extensive preserved feathers. It was found that Anchiornis looked pretty much like the Pileated Woodpecker. They both shared very similar coloration, and both dinosaurs have red crests of feathers on their heads. A living Anchiornis basically looked like a Pileated Woodpecker with teeth and unfused fingers, wings on both the forelimbs and the hindlimbs and a long tail. This makes the Pileated Woodpecker another excellent example of how similar living birds actually are to their extinct Mesozoic ancestors.