66 C. If. Merriam JBirds of Connecticut. 



much prized red heads, were spared and remained through the winter 

 some even breeding there the next summer (1873). Mr. J. H. 

 Sage killed one at Hartford, Dec. 31st, of the same winter (1872). 

 Their food consisted chiefly of acorns. In this connection I will state 

 that in northern New York (Lewis Co.), where they are usually one 

 of our commonest Woodpeckers, they subsist almost exclusively on 

 beech-nuts, of which they evidently are extremely fond, eating them, 

 apparently with equal relish, whether green or fully matured. It is 

 truly a beautiful sight to watch these magnificent birds, together 

 with their equally abundant cousins, the Yellow-bellied Woodpeckers 

 (Sphyrapicm varius), creeping about, after the manner of the War- 

 blers, among the small branches and twigs, which bend low with their 

 weight, while picking and husking the tender nuts the bright crim- 

 son of the head, neck and breast, the glossy blue-black back, and 

 creamy-white belly, together with the scarcely less striking colors of 

 their yellow-bellied companions, contrast handsomely with the deep 

 green foliage. 



143. Colaptes auratUS (Linne) Swainson. Golden-winged Woodpecker; 



Yellow-hammer; High -holder ; Flicker; Yaffle. 



Resident ; common from early April till November. A few 

 generally winter. It breeds in holes in old stubs and trees. The 

 migrants arrive during the latter part of March (March 28), remain- 

 ing till the middle or latter part of November (Nov. 14 and 28). My 

 friend, Mr. A. J. Dayan, saw one, near New Haven, on the 26th of 

 January, 1877. Mr. Geo. Bird Grinnell tells me that he has taken it, 

 near Milford, Conn., in December (Dec. 25, 1876), January (Jan. 1, 

 1877), and February (Feb. 27, 1875). Mr. W. W. Coe writes me 

 that they also spend the winter in the vicinity of Portland, Conn. 



Kalm states, in his Travels, that " this species is destructive to 

 maize-fields and orchards, for it pecks through the ears of maize, and 



eats apples Some years ago there was a premium of two 



pence per head, paid from the public funds, in order to extirpate this 

 pernicious bird."* 



Family, STRIG-ID^E. 



144. Strix flammea, var. Americana (Audubon) Schl. Barn Owl. 



A rare accidental visitor from the South. Taken by Linsley at 

 Stratford, Conn.f Prof. J. A. Allen states that Dr. Wood " has a 



* Peter Kalm's Travels into North America, vol. ii, pp. 86-7. 1771. 

 f Catal. Birds Conn., p. 253. 1843. 



