Short Bird Haiku Poem About Pileated Woodpeckers

Short Rhyming Bird Haiku Poem About Pileated Woodpeckers 5 7 5

Beak like wood-chopper,
Pileated Woodpecker
Rattles rot off pine.

Justin Farley

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I’ve seen a Pileated Woodpecker chip away at the rot of an old tree multiple times over the past few weeks. The sound of their hammering is much louder than you’d imagine when you’re up close–not to mention the amount of wood chips they actually remove! I wrote this short nature inspired haiku with this image in mind.

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The Pileated Woodpecker is well known for its distinct red feathers on its head that almost looks like a mohawk. Here are some additional quick, fun facts you might not know:

Interesting Bird Facts About the Pileated Woodpecker

• It is the largest woodpecker in most of North America
  The Pileated Woodpecker is about the size of a crow. It can grow up to 19 inches tall with a wingspan of over 30 inches.
• They carve deep rectangular holes
  While most woodpeckers drill round holes, pileateds make rectangular ones, often over a foot long.
  These dramatic gashes are used to reach carpenter ants in rotten wood.
• Their work helps other animals.
  Abandoned holes become homes for owls, bats, ducks, and raccoons.
• Their call sounds like maniacal laughter or cackling.
  A Pileated Woodpecker’s call is a high, echoing series of notes.
• Their tongues are long and barbed.
  Their tongue can extend up to 4 inches past their beak and is tipped with barbs and sticky saliva, perfect for lapping up ants and larvae inside dead trees.
• Their skulls have shock-absorbing bones.
  This allows them to hammer up to 20 times per second without brain injury.
• Pileated Woodpeckers generally mate for life and share territory.
  Mates usually stay together for life and co-raise their young.
• Do not migrate.
  Pileated Woodpeckers continue to hammer all winter long.
• Their drumming had additional uses.
  Their hammering is not just for food. It can also be used to mark territory and attract mates.
• Pileated Woodpeckers inspired the Woody Woodpecker cartoon.
  Though slightly different in style, the original Woody Woodpecker character was modeled after the Pileated Woodpecker’s red crest, size and wild vocal calls.

The Pileated Woodpecker is a marvel to behold. How in the world can a bird hit a tree so many times, in such a short amount of time, and suffer no damage! Nature continues to be a mystery.

Have you seen the Pileated Woodpecker before? What did you find interesting about the bird? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.

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Enjoyed this 5 7 5 bird haiku poem about the Pileated Wood Pecker? Here are a few other haiku poems about birds as well as all my online nature poetry.

You can find the rest of my poems about nature that I’ve posted online HERE