THE RED-HEADED WOODPECKER. 103 
alarmed, he seizes a capital one by striking his open bill deep into 
it, and bears it off to the woods. When the Indian corn is in its 
rich, succulent, milky state, he attacks it with great eagerness, 
opening a passage through the numerous folds of the husk, and 
feeding on it with voracity. The girdled or deadened timber, so 
common among corn-fields in the back settlements, are his favorite 
retreats, whence he sallies out to make his depredations. He is 
fond of the ripe berries of the sour gum, and pays pretty regular 
visits to the cherry-trees, when loaded with fruit. ‘Towards fall, he 
often approaches the barn or farm-house, and raps on the shingles 
and weather-boards: he is of a gay and frolicsome disposition ; and 
half a dozen of the fraternity are frequently seen diving and vocif- 
erating around the high, dead limbs of some large tree, pursuing 
and playing with each other, and amusing the passenger with their 
gambols. Their note, or cry, is shrill and lively; and so much 
resembles that of a species of tree-frog, which frequents the same 
tree, that it is sometimes difficult to distinguish the one from the 
other. 
“Such are the viczous traits, if I may so speak, in the character 
of the Red-headed Woodpecker; and I doubt not but, from what 
has been said on this subject, that some readers would consider it 
meritorious to exterminate the whole tribe as a nuisance; and, in 
fact, the legislatures of some of our provinces, in former times, 
offered premiums to the amount of twopence per head for their 
destruction! But let us not condemn the species unheard: they 
exist, they must therefore be necessary. If their merits and 
usefulness be found, on examination, to preponderate against¢their 
vices, let us avail ourselves of the former, while we guard as well 
as we can against the latter. 
“ Though this bird occasionally regales himself on fruit, yet his 
natural and most useful food is insects, particularly those numerous 
and destructive species that penetrate the bark and body of the 
tree to deposit their eggs and larva, the latter of which are well 
known to make immense havoc. That insects are his natural food 
is evident from the construction of his wedge-formed bill, ‘the 
length, elasticity, and figure of his tongue, and the strength and 
position of his claws, as well as from his usual habits. In fact, 
1 Kam. 
