NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 219 



less lustrous than those of S. ruber, a little more elongated and pointed 

 in shape, some approaching a distinct ovate-pyriform or pear shape, a 

 characteristic not apparently found in the eggs of other species of the 

 same genus. Capt. Bendire gives the average size of seventeen speci- 

 mens as .97X.67; the largest, 1.02 x. 68; the smallest, .94X.67. 



405, Ceophloeus pileatus (LINN.) [371.] 



Pileated Woodpecker. 



Hab. Entire North America in heavily-wooded districts. 



Next in size to the Ivory-billed species is the Pileated Wood- 

 pecker, commonly called L,ogcock. It was formerly common to the 

 whole wooded region of North America, but is now rare or absent in 

 the thickly settled portions of the Eastern States. In southern dis- 

 tricts, midst timbered swamps and heavy secluded woods it is still 

 abundant. The nesting places are excavated usually in the main 

 trunks of high trees, such as oaks, sycamores, elms, pines, etc. The 

 height of the burrow from the ground ranges from twenty to eighty 

 feet. If inhabited, and the bird is at home, a rap upon the trunk of the 

 tree will generally bring this species to the entrance of the excavation. 

 The eggs are from four to six in number. A set of five eggs in the 

 collection of Mr. Norris, taken April 6, 1887, in Lee co., Texas, exhibit 

 the following measurements: i. 27x^5, I.33X.96, i. 29x^7, 1.29 x. 98, 

 i. 29 x .96. They -are pure white and very glossy. 



406. Melanerpes erythrocephalus (LINN.) [375.] 



Red-headed "Woodpecker. 



Hab. Eastern United States and British Provinces, west to the Rocky Mountains, occasionally 

 farther. Rare or casual east of Hudson River. 



One of the most familiar birds in Eastern United States. It is 

 found almost everywhere in deep forests and open woods, in groves, 

 orchards and solitary trees in fields, or along the roadside, and on the 

 open prairies. A bird of manifold tricks and manners some are 

 commendable, and some are not. It is known to rob and demolish the 

 nests of the Cliff Swallows ; oftentimes whole colonies of these nests 

 are destroyed by this Woodpecker. It seems to have considerable fore- 

 sight in " looking out for a rainy day ahead" by storing grasshoppers, 

 acorns and beech nuts in the cracks and crevices of posts, in the cavi- 

 ties of partially decayed trees, and under patches of raised bark. Ber- 

 ries and various fruits are likewise a portion of its food. A cavity for 

 the nest is dug in the decayed trunk of any kind of a tree of sufficient 

 thickness, and in almost any situation. Telegraph poles are often 

 resorted to. On the open, treeless prairies it has been known to nest 

 in the angle formed by the shares of an upturned plow, and necessity 

 often compels this bird to make its nest under the roofs or in any 



