C 07)17710)1 Bi)-ds 0)1 the Fm'm. 



283 



RED-HEADED WOODPECKER {Mela)ie)'i)es o'^ytlu'ocephaliis, Linn). 



Adult : head, neck and throat red ; general upper plumage bluish black, except 

 rump, upper tall coverts and portion of wings, which are white ; lower breast and belly 

 white. In first plumage young have grayish brown head and neck, and irregular bars 

 of black on white of the wing. Length, about 9% inches. 



Range. — Breeds from Florida to New York ; winters from Virginia southward. 



Nest. — In cavities of trees or poles. 



Eggs. — Four to six, glossy white. 



Throughout the larger portion of North Carolina the Red-headed 

 Woodpecker is a more or less common resident. It inhabits cultivated 

 fields in many places, and its usual perch is on an upright fence stake 

 or a dead tree in some clearing. It is often seen along railroads, where 



Red-headed Woodpecker. 



{After Beal, Farmers' Bulletin No. 5.'f, Office of Experiment Stations, U. S. Department 



of Agriculture. ) 



the telegraph poles are used as stations of outlook. This woodpecker also 

 is found in the towns of the State, particularly those favored with large 

 shade trees. In collecting food it does not, as a rule, traverse the trunks 

 and limbs of trees after the manner of the Downy, or dig in the earth 

 like the Flicker. Wliile at time it catches insects on the bark of trees, 



