Reply #23: You're in Montana? Almost certainly a pileated woodpecker [View All]

[semillama]

but in the spirit of fun and cryptozoology, here's something for comparison:



Now, note that these are perched birds, and thus you don't see the white parts of the Pileated so much. You mentioned a charcoal gray color, which also supports it being a Pileated. Having handled the skins of both Pileated and Ivory-bills at the same time, the Ivory bill is pretty much jet black, and the Pileated is indeed more a charcoal gray in comparison.

Here's a link to a great photo of a Pileated Woodpecker taking off from a perch, demonstrating the white on its wings:
http://www.gregscott.com/rwscott/rws_neg/019_2_pileated_woodpecker.HTML

Here's their range:


Now, you mentioned being in Western MT, so if you aren't in its range, you're pretty close.

Check out http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Pileated_Woodpecker_dtl.html
for more on Pileated Woodpeckers, and check out the Ivory-bill link on Cornell's front page for more on that bird.