250 BIRDS OF ONTAHIO. 



hammeviiig is ;it all tim^s a guide to those wIki wish to follow them 

 in the woods. A nest was taken in the county of Middlesex, in 

 Ma\-, 18So, Ijy Mr. Robt. Elliot. 



Dr. Macallum reports that they still hieed in suitable j)laces along 

 the north shore of Lake Erie, near Dunnville. Their distribution 

 seems to be more influenced by the size of tiie timber than by the 

 temperature, as they are common in ^Manitoba and abundant in 

 British Columbia, but are not named among the " Birds of Alaska." 

 Though now rare, or absent, in the thickly settled parts of the 

 Eastern States, they are still common in the timl)ered swamps and 

 secluded woods in tKe south. The nest is usually made in a retiied 

 part of the woods, and at so great a height from the ground that it 

 is seldom reached by the oologist. This fact will help to pre%ent tin- 

 species being reduced in numbers. 



(iKNTs MELANERPES Swainsox. 



SunoExus MELANERPES. 



MELANERPES ERYTHROCEPHALUS (Linn.). 



177. Red-headed Woodpecker. (lUG) 



(Jlossy l)lue-l)la(;k ; i-iunp, secondaries and under j)aits fi-oni the l)reast, pure 

 wliite ; primaries and tail feathers, blaek ; whole head, neck and breast crimson 

 in both se.xes, grayish-lirown in the yoiiiuj. About 9 ; wing, oi ; tail, 3i. 



Hab. — United States, west to the Rocky Mountains, straggling westward 

 to Salt Lake Valley ; lare or local east of tlie Hudson River. 



Nest, in a hole in a tree, varying greatly in height. 



Eggs, four to six, white. 



In Ontario the Red-headed Woodpecker is a summei' resident 

 only, arriving early in May and leaving again in September. It is 

 (juite common and peihaps the best known of any of the wood- 

 peckei's, both on account of its decided markings and from its habit 

 •of visiting the orchard dui-ing the season of ripe fruit, it is also an 

 expert fly-catcher, fret|uentlv taking its position on the top of a 

 dea<l pine, from which it darts out aftei- the ))assing insect in true 

 fly-catcher style. Though a very showy l)ird when seen in the 

 woods, it does not look so well in collections, the rerl of the head 

 •evidently fading after fleath. 



It is generallv disti'ihutcfi throuLrhout Ontario, hut becomes rare 



