Pileated Woodpecker (+ repost)

This male Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) flew in on me as I was taking pictures in a local park.

He moved in and out of the sun. The sun angle was just about ideal for this capture. One can even see the outline of the skull under the red crest. Often, the PWs seem to be on the dark side of the trees or at least in the shade, but this one liked the sun.

The brown specks on the bill are particles of dirt. He had been picking into the ground before. Note also the tongue sticking out.

The photo is cropped to 73 % (bottom and left to reduce the size of the dark area at LLC, plus a small slice at the top to position the bird in the now cropped frame).

Canon 7D, Sigma 150-500 at 500 mm, ISO 320, f/11 at 1/250 sec., aperture priority, no comp. No flash. Handheld. Not baited, not called, not captive, etc.

Exif reports 3.22 m distance. At times, when he was poking into the ground, he was inside of my minimum focusing distance (2.20 m).