LA Weekly

My father has told me stories of his encounter of a giant woodpecker for years and I always believed him. But now I know it's really true. However, he saw one back in the 1960s when he was a teenager in Arkansas. If there is one, maybe there is more. My dad said that if he hadn't of stopped the bird from pecking at one of his trees then it would of been chopped down by the woodpecker. It wasn't a small tree either. He's also told of a big frog with really long legs.

I believe this is the bird I saw as a kid in a friends backyard in North Vernon Indiana. Is there another bird that looks like this? Over the years I told people about this giant wood pecker and everyone has laughed at the story, now I can prove it.

The pileated woodpecker looks just like it:

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/programs/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Pileated_Woodpecker_dtl.html

But that doesn't mean you didn't see what you think you saw.

rushville Ohio i thout i was seeing things first glance looked like a wood yard orniment 2nd look huge woodpecker HUGE have seen more around.

A wee lassie i know of, by the name of jessica hamelin, told me all about such a creature. She was in her bedroom one afternoon as the bird swooped on to a large tree branch and caught her lovely green eyes. She called upon it, with the name..."WOODY"...so far as i recall, and after chirping once or twice it payed a visit her open arms at the window's trim. She welcomed it with open arms, a hug and many kisses. Once comfortable, she guided it with a small pointy finger into her room. It landed on the floor and she closed the window quickly. She slowly then turned to the bird and exclaimed "ok mister, now you are coming to budapest with me. you are my new pet cause i couldn't find a tank big enough for the squid. you can't argue 'cause the window is closed and....well...no time for being silly. budapest will be more lovely than the pants at DLR with ice cream on them. i didn't need to buy then because i have yooooooooou now". The woodpecker was not so much digging it, so he said she could ride on his back to a far off land. I have not heard from her since.........so if you see of a sweet little lady riding a giant woodpecker while looking for squid in the middle of the ocean, please tell her that it is time to come home.

I have two giant woodpeckers living in my backyard (maybe more, I thought it was just one till this morning)!!! I have video of them I just took this morning and pictures!!! Evansville, Indiana

Wow.....I didnt realize these were rare or Id have taken pictures but in nov of 2005 I saw two of these fine specimens in my back yard in central fla brevard county....they were here for a few days but seemed to have moved on, I will watch for a hopefull return to document with camera

I saw one of these in Huntsville, TX probably ten years ago or so. I thought I was seeing things! It was so big and so beautiful!

I saw one of these in Henderson NC. It was perching on a branch and I couldn't figure out what kind of bird it was because it was so big and has a large beak. My father in law told me it was his giant woodpecker, I guess it comes around often. I went to get my camera but it was gone when I got back.

My father told me a few weeks back about such a "giant woodpecker" and I thought he was nuts, but after hearing a loud ruckus from the second floor of my home - I saw it in our Pin Oak tree. It was so large it scared me. It was larger than a house cat & flew away almost immediately.

Just thought I would let you know there are two types of woodpeckers that look very similar. Te Ivory billed and the pileated woodpecker. They both look almost identical. However, they are two different species. The pileated is about the size of a large crow with a red crown, and a black beak. They are between 16-19 inches tall. The ivory billed woodpecker has a pale white bill (ivory)a red crown and a white stripe that runs down the center of its back. They are even larger than the pileated woodpecker. However no size range is available due to how rear they are. In flight the ivory billed's wing tip is white and the pileated is black. Other tan these small differences the birds look almost identical it is very easy to have a case of mistaken identity. Before you go off saying you have them in your backyard google some images of both of these birds to make sure you are looking at the right bird. Also the Pileated woodpecker ranges from as far North as Canada all the way down to the southern tip of Florida and as far west as past the rockies. If the proffessionals have not been able to find them in the wild I do not think these birds have been hanging out in the rural or metro areas. I think there is a lot of mistaken identity. Google some images of pileated woodpecker and ivory billed woodpecker and see what you come up with. The similarities between the two will astound you. I think you will quickly see just how easy it is to mis identify this species. One has a black bill the other an ivory bill. Other than that they are almost identical.

Yep it was this bird the ivory bill. as a kid (10 years old) it seemed to be as big as i was. i never saw anything like it before or since.

I'm not sure but I think we have a giant wood pecker aroud our trees. I live in Conroe Texas

i think i may have seen one in my backyard in Louisville as well, its enourmous and very loud.