After showing a male Pileated Woodpecker foraging on a piling a couple of weeks ago <http://blog.kootenay-lake.ca/?p=33997>, Cynthia found another foraging pileated. This new one was a female. So, I am showing both.
First, I will reproduce the male from the two-weeks old posting. It has a reddish malar strip (from bill down to neck). Its red cap also extends to its bill.
Second, here is Cynthia’s shot of the female from the latest observation. The malar strip is black (not reddish) and the red crest stops above the eye. The darker eye colour seems to be only a result of the age of the bird, not its sex.
This shot of the female shows the red crest stopping well above the bill, and the dark malar strip. But, the real reason it is included is that it is an unusual view.
What a terrific photo lesson for iding any PWs who come near enough to notice the gender difference…thanks so much!
See!…see!..
Allan
Woodbury Village
Superb depth-of-field Cynthia!
What are the crusty bits on the last one’s bill?
Heather, presumably out-of-focus bits of wood fibre.
Wonderful shots :0)