572 ZYGODACTYLl, 



RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER. 



(Picus carolinus, L. Wilson, 1. p. 113. pi. 7. fig. 2. [male,] Phil. 

 Museum. No. 1944.) 



Sp. Charact. — Barred with black and white; head and neck 

 above red-lead color ; cheeks and parts beneath pale yellowish- 

 buff; the belly tinged with red. — Female and Young with the 

 fore part of the head without red. 



This species inhabits the whole North-American con- 

 tinent, from the interior of Canada to Florida, and even 

 the island of Jamaica, in all of which countries it proba- 

 bly rears its young, migrating only partially from the 

 colder regions. This also, like the preceding, is un- 

 known in all the eastern parts of Massachusetts and 

 probably New Hampshire. 



The Red-Bellied Woodpecker, dwells in the solitude of 

 the forest ; amidst the tall and decayed trees only he 

 seeks his less varied fare, and leads a life of roving 

 wildness and independence, congenial with his attach- 

 ment to freedom and liberty. Sometimes, however, on 

 the invasion of his native haunts by the progress of 

 agriculture, he may be seen prowling among the dead 

 and girdled trees which now afford him an augmented 

 source of support ; and, as a chief of the soil, he some- 

 times claims his native rights by collecting a small tythe 

 from the usurping field of maize. His loud and harsh 

 call of Hshow 'tsJioiv 'tsJiow Hslioiu, reiterated like the 

 barking of a cur, may often be heard, through the course 

 of the day, to break the silence of the wilderness in 

 which his congenial tribe are almost the only residents. 

 On a fine spring morning, I have observed his desultory 

 ascent up some dead and lofty pine, tapping at intervals, 

 and dodo-ino- from side to side, as he ascended in a 

 spiral line ; at length, having gained the towering 

 summit, while basking in the mild sunbeams, he sur- 



