THE GOLDEN-WINGED WOODPECKER. 107 
of this bird’s laying eighteen or twenty eggs in a few 
days, they being removed as soon as laid, and only two or 
three being left in the nest at a time. The food of this spe- 
cies consists of insects, berries, and grains. Ants are 
greedily eaten by it, and constitute no inconsiderable por- 
tion of its diet. On visiting the nest at night, I have very 
seldom been able to catch the old bird in it; she almost 
always heard my approach, and took flight: once I caught 
her on the nest; but, as I put my hand in to secure her, she 
attacked it with fierce pecks of her bill, and made such an 
onslaught that I was glad to permit her to escape. But 
one brood is reared in the season. 
