He is beautiful. I thought pileated woodpeckers were extinct or almost. Maybe I have the wrong woodpecker.

I think you are thinking of the Ivory Billed woodpecker which is extinct

Compared to a crow, how big was the bird? Where was this taken? To me this looks like a juvenile Northern goshawk, which is a very rare and secretive bird of deep woods.

Here is a link that might be useful:

About the size of a crow. Maybe a bit bigger The picture was taken in my yard just a short ways east of Edmonton Alberta.I think it was an immature Red Tail .

This post was edited by beegood on Sat, Oct 11, 14 at 9:37

This is undoubtedly a juvenile Northern Goshawk and a FANTASTIC find! They are not commonly seen, let alone perched in the open. They are of the genus Accipiter, and are closely related to the more common Cooper's Hawk and Sharp-shinned Hawk.

What makes this a Goshawk is: (in comparison to the similar Cooper's), the tail bands are wavy and have pale outlines to the dark bands, and also the upperparts are heavily marked and rather decorative. The massive white eyebrow (supercilium) CAN occur on juvenile Cooper's and Sharp-shinned but it tends to be more prominent in juvenile Goshawks. But the tail and the upperpart patterning are what clinches it here. This is a classic example of a juvenile Goshawk, straight out of a field guide!

AMAZING bird. Glad you posted. Which state was this seen (and when)? Interesting it let you come close. I have to say, though, that the adults during nesting season are notorious for attacking and injuring humans that happen upon their nesting area.

This post was edited by TMFF on Sat, Oct 11, 14 at 14:24

Never mind on the location request. I see you're in the province of Alberta.

Thanks Learn something new every day..l guess i am lucky. I live at the edge of a wooded ravine and get a lot of wild life in my yard. All the way down from moose to a tiny little brown creeper.

Also, what makes it a gos and not a coop is that goshawks are waaay bigger, no size overlap like sharpies and coops.

Great picture! Majestic looking.

Great find of a great bird and a superb picture! Lucky you!

Gorgeous picture of a very powerful hawk! I thought Cooper's Hawks look confident but this is a Cooper's on steroids.

Claire