Woody Woodpecker is a cartoon character that appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz Studio and distributed by Universal Pictures between 1940 and 1972. Woody shares many characteristics in common with the pileated woodpecker in terms of both physical appearance as well as his characteristic laugh, which resembles the call of the pileated woodpecker. However, these similarities are the result of the artistic license of the creators and have caused much confusion within the birding community among those who have attempted to classify Woodys species.
According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, the pileated woodpecker is the real-life inspiration for the Woody Woodpecker cartoon. The pileated woodpecker is the largest woodpecker in North America and uses its powerful beak to tear into decayed wood in search of beetle grubs and carpenter ants. Its spongy skull bones protect its brain during tree hammering. Fist-sized, rectangular holes in dead trees and rotten stumps show where a pileated woodpecker has been at work.
However, in a commentary by Julie Zickefoose on NPR, she stated that Woody Woodpecker is not a pileated woodpecker, but rather an acorn woodpecker. She also mentioned that animators are a bit fast and loose with their biology, and that the laugh and appearance of the Pileated is often cited as the inspiration for Woody the Woodpecker, but this seems to be inaccurate; credit apparently goes to the Acorn Woodpecker.
In summary, while Woody Woodpecker shares some physical and behavioral characteristics with the pileated woodpecker, the character's species is not definitively identified. Some sources suggest that Woody was inspired by the acorn woodpecker, while others suggest that he was modeled after the pileated woodpecker.
