THE RED BELLIED WOODPECKER 



EBRA BIRD" is the 

 name by which this 

 handsome Woodpecker 

 will be recognized by 

 many readers. Some 

 regard it as the most beautiful of the 

 smaller species of its tribe. As may be 

 seen, the whole crown and nape are 

 scarlet in the male. In the female 

 they are only partly so, but sufiSciently 

 to make the identification easy. A 

 bird generally of retired habits, seeking 

 the deepest and most unfrequented 

 forests to breed, it is nevertheless often 

 found in numbers in the vicinity of 

 villages where there are a few dead and 

 partially decayed trees, in which they 

 drill their holes, high up on a limb, or 

 in the bole of the tree. When engaged 

 in hammering for insects it frequently 

 utters a short, singular note, which 

 Wilson likens to the bark of a small 

 dog. We could never liken it to any- 

 thing, it is so characteristic, and must 

 be heard to be appreciated. Chaw^ 

 chaw^ repeated twice, and with vigor, 

 somewhat resembles the hoarse utter- 

 ance. 



Prof. D. B. Yid.xsXz states that this 

 species in the vicinity of Manhattan, 

 Kansas, exhibits the same familiarity 

 as the Flicker, the Red-headed and 

 Downy Woodpeckers. About a dozen 

 nests were observed, the excavations 

 ranging usually less than twenty feet 

 from the ground. One nest in a bur- 

 row of a large dead limb of an elm 



tree was found May 12, and contained 

 five eggs. The birds are very much 

 attached to their nests. If the nest is 

 destroyed by man or beast, the birds 

 almost immediately begin excavating 

 another nest cavity for the second set, 

 always in the vicinity of the first nest, 

 often in the same tree. 



In its search for food, the " Zebra 

 Bird," regardless of the presence of 

 man, climbs in its usual spiral or zig- 

 zag manner the trees and their branches 

 " boldly uttering now and then its 

 familiar chaw^ chaw, darting off occas- 

 ionally to catch a passing insect upon 

 the wing. Its flight is undulating, and 

 its habits in many respects are like 

 those of the Red-headed, but it is not 

 so much of an upland bird, or lover 01 

 berries and fruits, and therefore more 

 respected by the farmer. In contest 

 with the Red-head it is said to be 

 invariably vanquished. 



The North American family 01 

 Woodpeckers — consisting of about 

 twenty-five species — is likely to be 

 brought together in Birds for the first 

 time. We have already presented sev- 

 eral species, and will figure others as we 

 may secure the finest specimens. Occas- 

 ionally a foreign Woodpecker will 

 appear. About three hundred and 

 fifty species are known, and they are 

 found in all the wooded parts of the 

 world except Australia and Mada- 

 gascar. 



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