244 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



male the entire crown and nape are brilliant scarlet, and a large 

 patch of the same color adorns the nape of the female. 



Winter. — The migrations of this woodpecker are, apparently, not 

 so extensive or so regular as those of most migratory birds; they 

 seem to consist more of irregular wanderings and to depend more 

 on the abundance of the food supply. The species occurs, in small 

 numbers at least, more or less irregularly in winter even in the north- 

 ern portions of its range. There is, however, usually a general south- 

 ward movement in fall, which greatly increases its abundance in the 

 Southern States in winter. William H. Fisher (1897) says of its 

 winter occurrence in Maryland : "I have only met with about half 

 a dozen individuals outside of Somerset County, but there, for the 

 last fourteen years, in either November, December or January, I have 

 found them to be very abundant. According to my observations, 

 they prefer the low, swampy woodlands and clearings, only occa- 

 sionally being found in the isolated tree in the field." 



W. E. Saunders tells me that it was formerly quite common in 

 southern Ontario and came regularly to the feeding stations in 

 winter ; evidently some of these birds did not migrate. On the other 

 hand, Audubon (1842) says: "In winter I have found the red-bellied 

 woodpecker the most abundant of all in the pine barrens of the 

 Floridas, and especially on the plantations bordering the St. John's 

 river, where on any day it would have been easy to procure half a 

 hundred." And C. J. Maynard (1896) w^rites: "I found the red- 

 bellied woodpeckers quite abundant in winter in the piney woods 

 which border the plantations on the Sea Islands off the Carolinas but 

 as I proceeded south, their numbers increased and in Florida, they 

 fairly swarmed, actually occurring in flocks. They accompany the 

 cockaded woodpeckers in the piney woods and also associate with 

 the yellow-bellies in the swamps and hummocks ; in fact, it is difficult 

 to remain long in any portion of Florida where there are trees, with- 

 out hearing the discordant croak of these woodpeckers and I even 

 found them on the Keys." 



DISTRIBUl'IOM 



Range. — Chiefly the Eastern United States, casual west to Ari- 

 zona and Colorado; nonmigratory. 



The range of the red-bellied woodpecker extends north to south- 

 eastern Nebraska (Lincoln and Nebraska City) ; southeastern Min- 

 nesota (St. Peter and Minneapolis) ; southern Michigan (Grand 

 Rapids, Howell, and Plymouth) ; and southern Ontario (Coldstream, 

 Toronto, and Twin Lakes). East to southeastern Ontario (Twin 

 Lakes) ; western New York (Canandaigua, Potter, and probably 

 Ithaca) ; southern Pennsylvania (Fulton County) ; eastern Maryland 

 (Marydel and Church Creek) ; Virginia (Dismal Swamp) ; North 



