insects, and also upon soft, inner bark ; they injure fruit-trees by stripping off the bark, 
sometimes in large areas, instead of simply boring holes. 
‘Of the several small species (of Woodpeckers) commonly called ‘Sapsuckers,’ they 
alone deserve the name. In declaring war against Woodpeckers, the agriculturist will do 
well to discriminate between this somewhat injurious and the highly beneficial species.” 
Its nest is in a hole which it has dug, usually in a dead forest-tree. 
It has a number of harsh cries. 
PLATE VII].—RED-HEADED WOODPECKER. 
Melanerpes erythrocephalus. 
Head and neck all round, crimson; back black to rump, which is 
white; lower breast and belly white ; wings black, with a broad white 
band; tail black, somewhat tipped with white, rounded, and feathers 
pointed ; bill and feet dark. Length, 9.75 inches. 
Migratory. Seen here most frequently in the Spring and Fall. Digs a hole for a nest 
in a tree in wood or orchard. Its note is high-pitched and resembles that of a tree-frog. 
A paragraph in the columns of the New York Tribune, in the Fall of 1890, stated that 
a bird of this species fluttered one night against a window of the editorial room, doubtless 
71 
7 
