Red-headed Woodpecker. 89 



The entrance is a sub-circular hole only large enough 

 to admit the body of the birds with ease, and the cavity 

 extends horizontally backward from the top of the en- 

 trance for five or six inches, while from the bottom of the 

 entrance it slopes more abruptly toward the bottom. The 

 depth of the cavity varies from eight to fifteen inches in 

 most instances; in exceptional cases it is even deeper. 

 The base of the excavation is wide, forming a roomy re- 

 cess from five to six inches in extent. The floor of the 

 cavity is covered with a bed of soft wood dust in some 

 instances; frequently the bottom is bare. No material 

 for a nest is carried into the cavity, but the beautiful, 

 rosy-white eggs are deposited on the bare wood. There 

 are five or six eggs in the complement, and the average 

 Qg^g measures an inch long by .78 of an inch in breadth. 

 The eggs are generally deposited by the first of June, and 

 both birds attend to the duties of incubation. 



The care of the young birds is a matter of some moment 

 to the parents, and the time of both is pretty nearly oc- 

 cupied in providing for the wants of the growing young- 

 sters. When the young are quite helpless, the parent 

 birds first alight in their accustomed place below the 

 entrance, and then slip into the cavity to attend to the 

 brood. When the nestlings are older, the parent birds 

 notify them of their arrival by drumming on the rim of 

 the entrance, in response to which the eager youngsters 

 set up a confused murmur, which has a strangely buzzing 

 effect to the listener without, and they clamber to the 

 entrance to receive supplies from their elders. It is 

 usually well into July before the broods leave their nests, 

 and the young birds are soon at ease on the wing, and 

 readily learn to forage for themselves. The young can be 

 distinguished from their elders by their brownish gra}' 

 head, neck, and throat, instead of the bright crimson of 

 the corresponding parts in the plumage of the older birds. 

 The young also have their backs marked with gray and 

 black. Several weeks are spent by the parents and the 

 youngsters in company or in communication, the latter 

 apparently receiving careful training in the most approved 

 methods of capturing and finding their food, after which 



