This is the largest woodpecker at the Slough. In the picture, you can see the pileated's tongue reaching into the tree for bugs. Woodpeckers actually help keep trees healthy by eating termites off the bark.

These woodpeckers can strike a tree with their beak more than 10 times per second! Notice how the pileated uses its tail as a third leg to brace itself on the tree.

You can tell that the bird in the picture is a female because the male has red coloration around his beak that looks sort of like a mustache and this bird does not.