C OLA P TES A 11 R A T US. 3 G 5 



tho l)irils as they sat near the nests, without tlieir payin!;' the slightest attcMUion to me. 

 Ill llif first instance, the nest was quite low, not over ten feet from the g'rouml lint I have 

 taken the eggs from the lofty limb of a buttonwood, sixty feet high. 



The Red-headed Woodpeckers begin to drill the holes Ibr their nests in early INIay but 

 tlie full eomplement of eggs is not deposited until June. The young leave the nest about 

 (lie first of August and, as related, accompany their parents for some time. At this sea- 

 son, they resort to the gum trees in great numbers in order to feed upon the acid berries 

 v>-hich grow in profusion but they also eat large quantities of insects and, like the Yellow- 

 bellies, are quite expert flycatchers. Most of the Red-headed Woodpeckers leave Penn- 

 sylvania about the last of October but a few remain all winter. 



GENUS IV. COLAPTES. THE SPOTTED WOODPECKERS. 



(Jen. Cii. Sternum, not lioimas wide as the height of the keel. Mur/jinal inilentations , deep, allhcinj efjual in depth to 

 the hcii/lil (if the keel. Posterior border of sternum, emartjinate. Manuhrium, quite larije. Tcrininnt hock ofscaputa, round- 

 ed on the upper and lower sides. Tonijue, provided with a lonej, extensible sheath, and the cerato-hycts i.ri ijrcctty doiujaled 

 and, extending around the back of the sLull and over the top of it, enter the riijhl iiostril. Provcnt riculus , large. Stomach, 

 muscular. Salivary glands, tvcU developed. Both mandibles , curved. 



Mciiilievs yf this genus are usually iiinvkcd on the occiput with scarlet anil arc transversely banded above and spotted 

 Iiclow. The tail feathers are iiuitc acuminate. The hind toe exceeds one half the length of the outer which is pn.ji'ctod 

 li;u:l;\v::r(!. There is lait one species wilhin our limits. 



COLAPTES AURATUS. 



Golden-winged Woodpecker. 



Colnptes aurntus Sw.\i\son, Ziol. Jour.. Ill; 1827, :!.j.'i. 



Colaples Maicanw. Sw.mnson, Syn. Me.K. birds in Philos. Mag., I; 1827, 440. 



Colaples hybridus l!.\ii;i), Birds k. A.; 1858, 122. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Sr. Cn. Form, robust. Size, largo. Sternum, stout. Tongue, long, not very thin, and horny at the tip which is 

 provided with barbs for one third of the terminal portion. The estcnsilile slieath occupies about (me half the length of the 

 tongue. The salivary glands arc large, Hat, somewhat triangular in form, and measure about 2'4fl in length by "SO in widtii 

 at the liase; the ducts are at the terminal extremity and open under the tongue. Thcroare no laryngeal muscles, excepting 

 the sterno-trachealis which is stout. The tympanifonu membrane is present and although there is an os tninsvcrsalc, yet 

 it does not support a .semilunar membrane. The (esophagus is without dilatation and opens into a very large, globular pro- 

 ventriculus which mea.sur&s about '70 in external diameter. The gastric glands are rather numerous, not simple, being o- 

 val in form with four small ijrotuberanccs emerging at c(|ual intervals from the central circumference. They only occupy the 

 lower ])ortion of the proventriculus and are packetl on a surface which is triangular in form, with the base whicli measures 

 about '80 in width, toward the oesophagus and the apex which is '"S from the base, toward the stomach. Thus the upper 

 portion of the proventriculus is destitute of glands but is provided with a mucus membrane. The stomach is rather tiat in 

 form with very muscular walls that measure ■.30 in thickness. The lining membrane is soft, similar to that which covci-s 

 the ])roventricuIus. The fold of the duodenum Ls quite long and rather twisted, inclosing a |)ancreas which is wide and of 

 irregular form. The spleen is an elliptical body lying jiartly on the proventriculus and partly over the pyloric opening of 

 the stomach. The left lobe of the liver is ;uoi'C than one half as large as the right. 



Color. Adult male. Head and na])e, slaty-ash. Pack and wings, excepting jirimaries, yellowish-ash, transversely 

 barred with dark-brown. Primaries and tail, dark-brown; the former, slightly barred on the outer and inner webs, the lat- 

 ter on the outer webs of extreme outer, and the inner webs of central pair, with ycUowkh-ash. Shaft of wing feathers and 

 upper tail coverts, under wing coverts and axillaries, under sides of wings and tail, excepting tip, bright golden-ycllow. 

 Sides of head and entire under parts, including under tail covc;rts, reddisli-ash, lightest anteriorly. Patch on cheek, broa<l 

 crescent on Ijreast, round sjiots on under side of body back of breast and ■ m under tail covorls, ;lilack. ■ There is it hanclof 



