Jan., 1909. Birds of Illinois and Wisconsin — Cory. 



S17 



Clingman reports the taking of a specimen at Half Day, Illinois, on 

 Dec. 30, 1893." (Birds of the Chicago Area, 1907, p. iii.) 



Regarding its occurrence in Wisconsin, Kumlien and Hollister 

 write: "Going back to 1870 and earlier, it was not at all an uncommon 

 bird in Bark River Woods in Jefferson County, where it bred regularly 

 as late as 1872, and sparingly even later. * * * * One was shot in 

 Jefferson County in 1877 in late fall, the last record for the section. 

 One was seen in Walworth County in May, 1889. In the central and 

 northern part of the state it is still fairly common, especially in the 

 heavily timbered hardwood districts. * * * * y^q received a speci- 

 men in October, 1898, which had been killed by a boy with a sling 

 shot in Lincoln Park, Chicago." 



Nests in a hole in a tree, usually fifty or more feet from the ground. 

 The eggs are white, five or six in number, and measure about 1.30 x 

 .95 inches. 



Genus MELANERPES Swainson. 



195. Melanerpes erythrocephalus (Linn.). 

 Red-headed Woodpecker. 



Distr.: Eastern United States, from Rocky Mountains to Florida 

 and north to about latitude 50°; casual east of the Hudson River. 



Adult male and female : Back, tail and most of wing, bluish black; 

 whole of head and throat, including upper breast, crimson red; 



greater portion of secondaries and wing 

 coverts, pure white; under parts, white, 

 more or less tinged with buff; tail, black, 

 the outer feathers more or less margined 

 with white; bill, slaty brown or horn 

 color. The sexes are similar. 



Immature : Head and neck, brownish 

 gray, streaked with dusky; feathers of the 

 back, blackish, faintly tipped with gray- 

 ish white; primaries, brownish black; 

 secondaries, broadly but irregularly 

 barred with black and white; tail, black, 

 most of the feathers tipped with white; 

 under parts, whitish, streaked with dusky, 

 most heavily on the throat and breast. 

 Length, 9; wing, 5.25; tail, 3.40; bill, i. 

 The Red-headed Woodpecker is an 

 Red-headed Woodpecker abundant summcr resident in Illinois and 



