The Woodpecker Family 



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pupae. They eat the larvae of the codling moths or 

 " apple worms. " The little fruit they eat consists of 

 frozen-thawed apples and wild berries. 



The hairy woodpecker. The hairy woodpecker is dis- 

 tinguishable from the downy woodpecker less by its 

 color than by its larger size. In many localities it is 

 not so common as the downy woodpecker. Both have 

 the under parts white and a broad patch of white along 

 the middle of the back, although the upper parts are 

 mainly black. Their habits are similar. 



The red-headed woodpecker. The red-headed wood- 

 pecker is one of the most common and conspicuous birds 

 in the wide region extending from the Hudson River to 

 the Rocky Mountains. It is not so common in New 

 England. In the Northern states only a few of these 

 woodpeckers are seen in winter, and they do not be- 

 come very common until about the first of May ; but 

 where beechnuts are abundant many of them remain 

 through the winter. Both sexes of this species are 

 colored alike. The whole head is gray in the young 

 and crimson in the adult birds. The extensive white of 

 the lower back and wings makes a strong contrast with 

 the black that extends forward to the neck. 



Unlike most woodpeckers, the red-heads eat more 

 vegetable than animal food. This includes corn in the 

 milk, acorns, beechnuts, cherries, and various berries, 

 both wild and cultivated. They obtain insects not only 

 from the trees but also at times by darting after them in 

 the air. Many of the insects eaten by them are tiger 

 beetles and ground beetles which are useful to man; 

 but they also eat cankerworms, which do much damage 



