The Pileated Woodpecker is a large bird, nearly the size of a crow. Adults are 40 to 49 centimetres (16 to 19 in) long, and weigh 250 to 350 grams (8.8 to 12 oz). They are mainly black with a red crest, and have a white line down the sides of the throat. They show white on the wings in flight. Adult males have a red line from the bill to the throat, in adult females these are black. (Source Wikipedia)

There has been a pair of these beautiful woodpeckers in the woods around our home here in Southeast Missouri, USA for several years. After the devastation to the forest from the inland hurricane we had in 2009 I didn’t see them for a couple of years. I have tried for all these years to get a good image of them but they are the most wary of all the birds I try to take images of. Then this morning they both lit in the tree in front of our home. This is still not a great image but it is so far the best I have been able to capture of one of them.

Nikon D40X with Nikon 300mm VR lens on Max zoom and manual focus