WOODPECKERS 281 



Plumage of adult male : top of head crested, scarlet ; white stripe each 

 side of crest and another back of the eyes which passes along neck to shoulders 

 and forward to the nostril becoming yellowish forward ; scarlet stripe at base 

 of lower mandible ; basal portion of wing feathers white ; otherwise above 

 blackish ; throat white ; under parts fuscous. Plumage of adult female : no 

 scarlet on crown or at base of lower mandible ; otherwise similar. Wing 9.00 

 to 10.00 ; culmen 2.12. 



Geog. Dist. — The heavily wooded sections of North America from the 

 Allegany Mountains northward. 



County Records. — Androscoggin: rare resident, (Johnson). Aroostook; 

 rare resident of the wooded sections, (Knight). Cumberland ; common resi- 

 dent, (Mead). Franklin ; rare resident, (Swain) ; common resident, (Sweet). 

 Hancock; rare resident, (Knight). Kennebec; very rare resident, (Dill). 

 Oxford; breeds rarely, (Nash). Penobscot; still fairly common resident in 

 the wilder portions of the county, (Knight). Piscataquis ; common resident, 

 (Homer). Somerset; rare resident, (Morrell). Waldo; very rare resident, 

 (Knight). Washington; not uncommon resident, (Boardman). York; a 

 few seen yearly, (Adams). 



Though formerly common the range of this species is annu- 

 ally becoming more and more restricted, owing largely to the 

 cutting off of the heavy timber and also to the fact that many 

 are shot by the sportsmen. The species is still quite a common 

 resident of the wilder sections of the State, preferring heavy 

 timbered growth and usually liking the lower more swampy 

 sections. 



It is largely insectivorous, eating beetles and the larvae 

 thereof, especially the timber boring species, also ants and their 

 larvae, and in fall dogwood berries, choke and black cherries and 

 other wild fruits and berries, also beechnuts and acorns for 

 which it has a decided fondness. 



Except the Flicker this is the only species of Woodpecker I 

 have observed feeding on the ground, but this species likes to 

 tear open the ant hills found in open places in the woods and 

 feed on the ants and their larvae. With their large powerful 

 bills they will work into and disintegrate large rotten stubs, 

 sometimes prying off sections as large as a man's leg. More 

 than once I have heard a splitting and ripping equal in volume 

 to the noise made by two or three men engaged in ripping and 

 cutting up timber, and on investigating found one of these birds 



