200 Woodruff, Birds of Shannon and Carter Counties, Mo. [\"J^i 



*28. Dryobates borealis. Red-cockaded Woodpecker. — I was fortu- 

 nate enough to be the first to introduce tliis bird ' to the Hst of the birds of 

 Missouri.2 At first they seemed to be rare, for up to April 10 I had only 

 found them twice — three together on March 15 and two on March 30. 

 But from April 10 on till the end of my stay in Shannon Co. (May 15) I 

 saw them constantly. The female of a pair secured April 19 (on which 

 day I saw four pairs) was in breeding condition, and a male secured on May 

 12 showed by the thin and featlierless condition of the skin on his breast 

 and belly that he was sharing with his mate in the duties of incubation. 



I met them again in the virgin pine woods near the northern border of 

 Carter Co. (Twp. 27, R. 2 East) on May 29, but about Grandin, fourteen 

 miles to the south, where all the pine had been cut, none were found. 

 As they seemed to confine themselves to the pine woods, I beheve they 

 will be driven out of this region as fast as these woods are cut off. 



*29. Sphyrapicus varius. Yellow-:§ellied Sapsucker. — One was 

 seen at Grandin March 8. They were abundant in Shannon Co. from 

 March 21 to April 8, after wliich only a few were seen daily till April 25, 

 and the last on May 9. This last record is considered suspiciously late 

 by Mr. Widmann,^ and is possibly that of a breeding bird. 



The sapsuckers were very partial to the sap (?) of witch-hazel, which 

 grew abundantly in the bottoms of the larger ra\ines, and numbers of 

 them were to be seen making rows of punctures on the stems of this shrub 

 from six inches to two feet from the ground. 



*30. Phloeotomus pileatus abieticola. Northern Pileated Wood- 

 pecker. — The two specimens secured on April 13 and May 13, both males, 

 were identified by Mr. H. C. Oberholser as belonging to this subspecies, 

 though the southern form might be expected to occur there. 



Tliis woodpecker was fairly common in Shannon Co., but very shy and 

 difiicult to approach within gun range. The male secured May 13 proved 

 by the concUtion of the skin on liis breast and belly that he also was sharing 

 with his mate in the duties of incubation. 



None was seen at Grandin, but it doubtless occurs in the heavier woods. 



*31. Melanerpes erjrthrocephalus. Red-headed Woodpecker.^ An 

 abundant svmimer resident, and probably a rare winter resident. One 

 specimen was seen March 10 and a pair March 30. These had probably 

 wintered, for no more were seen in the region about our camp in Shannon 

 Co. till April 26, on wliich date they were found in large numbers. But 

 on April 20 I found them to be common in the valley of the Current River, 

 some ten miles to the northeast of camp. These birds were probably the 

 vanguard of the migrants which were pushing up the valley and which did 

 not penetrate back into the forest until six days later. Common at 

 Grandin. 



1 Auk, Vol. XXIV, p. 349. 



2 Widmann, Prelim. Cat. Birds Mo., p. 121. 



3 Ibid., p. 123. 



