WonnPECKhRS 



H3 



Batchelder s Woodpecker ( Dryobatcs pitbcsccns 

 homonis) in the mouiUains from soutlu-ni 

 British Columbia to Xcw .Mexico and Arizona; 

 the Northern, or Nelson's, Uowny Woodpecker 

 (Dryobatcs pubcscais nclsoni) in northwestern 

 Alaska and southwestern Mackenzie to central 

 Alberta; and the Willow W'ood])ecker (Dryo- 

 batcs pitbcsccns tnrati) along the coasts and in 

 the valleys of California except on the northwest 

 coast and the desert ranges. Tlie ditTerences 

 between these forms and between thein and the 

 common Downy are slight variations in colora- 

 tion and size. I-. Nki.sox Nichols. 



The Downy Woodpecker is one of the fruit- 

 grower's friends. Besides picking up various 

 pests he locates burrows of the flat-headed apple- 

 tree borer and extracts the insects in consider- 

 able luuuhers. He is also an enemy of the 

 codling moth. Caterpillars appear to be a 

 very acceptable food for Downy, as they consti- 

 tute i6j/ per cent, of his yearly diet. A large 



proportion of them are of the wood-boring 

 species which he digs out of the wood; others 

 are surface feeders whicii he takes from the 

 leaves and bark. 



Tlie proportion between tiie animal and vege- 

 table parts of the food of the Downy Wood- 

 jK'cker is j)ractically the same as in the case of 

 the Hairy W or)dpeckcr. Less than 6 per cent. 

 of the entire food is fruit ;md very little of this 

 is cultivated. Grain of ;ill kinds aggregates less 

 than 2 \)Qr cent. 



The one charge that can be brought against 

 this Woodpecker is that of disseminating the 

 seeds of the poison ivy. These seeds are a 

 favorite winter food for many birds. Unfortu- 

 nately they germinate freely after they have 

 been voided. Since the insect food eaten by 

 Downy is almost all of harmful species it should 

 be considered fortunate that he can live on this 

 food when it is difficult for him to procure any- 

 thing else, and his one sin should be forgiven 

 him. 



RED-COCKADED WOODPECKER 

 Dryobates bcrealis (ViciUot) 



A. O. U. Number 395 



General Description. — Length. 8 inches. Upper 

 parts, black and white, barred: under parts, white. 



Color. — Adult M.ale: Crown, hindneck, lores, and 

 broad cheek stripe, extending behind to sides of neck, 

 where wider than in front, glossy blue-black ; nasal 

 tufts, dull whitish ; around eye and sides of head white, 

 forming a large patch which extends behind onto sides 

 of neck and in front sends a narrow branch to above 

 middle of eye; streak of scarlct-vcrmilion, along side 

 of head immediately above the white ear area ; extreme 

 upper back, sooty black, usually with concealed spots 

 or streaks of whitish; rest of back, together with 

 shoulders, broadly barred with sooty black and white, 

 the two colors equal in extent ; upper rump also barred 

 with black and white but less regularly or distinctly ; 

 lower rump, upper tail-coverts, and four middle tail- 

 feathers, black; two outer tail feathers white (usually 

 stained), with basal portion of inner web, black, the 

 white portion of inner web with three broad bars or 

 transverse spots of dull black: third tail-feathers with 

 whole, or nearly all, of inner web black, also the basal 



half of outer web; wings, sooty black, the middle and 

 rear lesser coverts variously spotted with white, the 

 greater coverts with two transverse rows of white .spots, 

 the secondaries crossed by four (exposed! narrow bands 

 or broad bars of white; outer webs of primaries (ex- 

 cept two outermost) with spots of white; inner webs 

 of wings (except terminal half of longer primaries) 

 with large spots of white; under parts, white, the sides 

 of chest longitudinally spotted or broadly streaked with 

 deep black, the sides, flanks, and under tail-coverts with 

 smaller spots and streaks of dusky; bill, blackish; iris, 

 brown, .'\dult Fem.\le: Similar to the adult male, 

 but without any red streak on sides of head. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nest: In a living pine and usu- 

 ally high up. Eggs: 2 to 5. usually 3 or 4. glossj' 

 white. 



Distribution. — Pine forests of eastern United States, 

 from Florida to eastern Te.xas ; north to central Vir- 

 ginia, eastern Tennessee, western Kentucky, and south- 

 eastern Missouri ; casually to New Jersey and eastern 

 Pennsvlvania. 



This is distinctly a bird of the southern United 

 States, not being found north of Virginia or 

 farther west than Oklahoma. It is an inhabit- 

 ant of the open pine-woods which cover so much 

 of our southern territory, and rarely, if ever, is 



it met with where the terrain is heavily wooded. 

 In small bands they go trooping through the 

 trees, searching the limbs, twigs, and cones for 

 the insect diet upon which they largely subsist. 

 Rarely will one see tliem except in the tree-tops. 



