Residents of Rockport, MA, have recently reported a large piliated woodpecker that has allegedly broken more than two dozen car mirrors and one vehicle’s side window.
Given their enormous size, pileated woodpeckers are generally strong enough to break mirrors, but that behavior is considered “definitely weird,” said Pamela Hunt, a senior biologist for avian conservation at the New Hampshire Audubon.
“Lots of birds will be aggressive against reflections in mirrors, but I don’t usually hear about woodpeckers,” she said. “They don’t usually peck at their opponents, they kind of chase them around.”
She said the woodpecker might be “a little stupid” and is trying to defend its territory and scare away what it sees as competition. The damage coincides with the mating season for pileated woodpeckers. The woodpecker doesn’t recognize its reflection, and is attacking mirrors and windows because it thinks they’re another bird.
Rockport resident, Janelle Favaloro, 59, was the first person who caught the woodpecker vandalizing her vehicle. She posted a picture of the bird to her local Facebook group asking for help identifying the “vandal.” She described him as “18 to 24 inches tall, wearing black and white with a red hat.”