These handsome birds are the largest species of woodpecker found in North America. Requiring large trees, they inhabit mature forests across Canada, the eastern United States, and parts of the Pacific Northwest.

They eat mainly insects, especially carpenter ants, but will also eat nuts and berries. They will riddle a dead tree with holes in order to reach ant colonies, and can lap up ants using their long tongues (just like an anteater). They sometimes also forage on the ground.

Mating pairs excavate large nests inside dead trees, usually with multiple entrance holes. Each nest is only used for a single season. Once abandoned by the woodpecker family, old nests provide homes for other animals including flying squirrels.