446 



P I C U S. 



swarms with insects ; and therefore, if there be one 

 portion of the world where birds to clear the fruit- 

 trees of insects are especially required, unquestionably 

 that is the United States. As this bird comes more 

 about houses and orchards than most of the species, 

 it is obviously the most useful bird there ; and there- 

 fore it deserves protection instead of persecution. 



In many parts of the United States- these wood- 

 peckers shift their quarters with the season, though 

 they move pretty far north in the summer. They 

 appear in the middle States about the end of April, 

 and leave them in October. They begin to build 

 their nests about the middle of May ; and, like the 

 others of the genus, they construct these in the trunk 

 or large branches of trees, generally speaking, with- 

 out any other materials than what the tree furnishes, 

 which being smoothed down to the proper shape forms 

 a bed for the eggs. The eggs are six in number, of 

 a white colour, and marked at the greater end with 

 reddish spots. The young are hatched towards the 

 end of June ; for the first season the head and neck 

 of the young birds are blackish grey ; which circum- 

 stance has caused some European writers to mistake 

 them for females. The white of the young is also 

 spotted with black ; but in the succeeding spring they 

 recover their perfect plumage ; when the only dif- 

 ference between the male and the female is that the 

 colours of tfce latter are not quite so bright, and that 

 it is rather smaller than the male bird : the head and 

 neck of both are deep scarlet ; the bill is strong, light 

 blue at the base, and black towards the point ; the 

 back, the primaries, the wing coverts, and the tail, are 

 black, shaded with steel blue ; the lower part of the 

 back, the rump, the secondaries, and the whole under 

 parts from the breast downward, are white ; the feet 

 and legs are bluish green ; and the claws are light 

 blue ; round the eye there is a narrow stripe of naked 

 skin of a dusky colour ; the iris is dark hazel. The 

 length of the bird from thebill to the tip of the tail 

 is about nine inches ; and the stretch of the wings 

 seventeen. Like the rest of the genus, this bird takes 

 great pains to place her young in an elevated situa- 

 tion on the tree, beyond the reach of enemies ; but 

 notwithstanding this, there is one deadly foe, against 

 whose depredations these precautions are no security ; 

 namely, the black snake, which though armed with no 

 poisonous fang, is a great destroyer of eggs and young 

 birds. This snake winds up the trunk of the tree, 

 enters the nest, eats the young or the eggs as it happens, 

 and coils himself up to doze where he has committed 

 his depredation. .Wilson says, " the eager school- 

 boy, after hazarding his neck to reach the wood- 

 pecker's hole, at the triumphant moment when he 

 thinks the nestlings his own, and strips his arm, 

 launching it down into the cavity, and grasping what 

 he conceives to be the callow young, starts with 

 horror at the sight of a hideous snake, and almost drops 

 from hisgiddy pinnacle, retreating down the tree with 

 terror and precipitation." 



Red-bellied Woodpecker (P. Carolmus}. This spe- 

 cies is a very little larger than the red-headed one ; 

 and it is more woodland in Us manners ; seldom ap- 

 pearing in orchards or near houses, but keeping to 

 the tall trees in the . close forests. It is a restless 

 and noisy bird, and very active in examining the 

 trees ; and perhaps it is a more expert climber than 

 most of its congeners. The birds build high, in the 

 hollow left by the stump of a broken branch, or in an 

 excavation made by the birds themselves, if they 



cannot find a natural hole fitted for that purpose. 

 They pair earlier than the preceding genus, and the 

 young climb about the branches, and often fall to the 

 ground, or are captured by those birds of prey which 

 are in the habit of beating over the forests during the 

 time when the tree birds have their nests and their 

 young. It is understood that they have two broods 

 in the course* of the year, and there are generally 

 five eggs in each hatch ; but this more abundant 

 production than in many of the woodpeckers, is in so 

 far counterbalanced by the casualties to which we 

 have alluded. The length is ton inches, and tho 

 stretch of the wings seventeen. The bill is an inch 

 and a half long, strong and of a bluish colour. The 

 nostrils are covered with tufts of brown hairs which 

 curl forward. The feathers on the forehead form a 

 sort of projecting cap, and are of a dull reddish yellow. 

 Behind these, along the upper part of the head, down 

 the back of the head, and spreading down to the 

 shoulders, is golden red, of the most brilliant metallic 

 gloss. The rest of the back is black, with cross 

 bars of white, and the rump is white with some 

 markings of black. The wings are black ; but the 

 lesser coverts have white tips, and the quills crossed 

 with lines of white. The cheeks and sides of the 

 neck are pale buff, gradually deepening into ash 

 colour, and again passing into blood-red on the belly. 

 Some of the small feathers are remarkably beautiful 

 in their markings, but they are too minute for gene- 

 ral description. These beautiful birds are found in 

 the West Indies as well as in North America ; and 

 in all places where they are found, they are especial 

 conservers of forest trees, and at the same time highly 

 ornamental. 



Yellow-bellied Woodpecker (P. Varius], This spe- 

 cies is still smaller than the preceding one, being 

 eight inches in length, and fifteen in the extent of 

 the wings. The crown of the head is rich scarlet, 

 bordered at each side with black, and the feathers 

 are a little produced, forming an erectible but not 

 very long crest. From near the gape a narrow stripe 

 of white descends on each side, bending round, and 

 gradually passing into the yellowish white on the 

 breast. The enclosed portion of the throat is rich 

 scarlet bordered with black, the same as the feathers 

 on the crown. The back is dusky yellow waved and 

 dotted with black, the wings are black, and the belly 

 yellow. The minor markings upon the bird are 

 beautiful, but numerous and intricate. It appears 

 that the habits of these birds are somewhat different 

 from those of the typical woodpeckers ; for they 

 have muscular stomachs, and swallow gravel appa- 

 rently for the purpose of assisting in the trituration 

 of their food, which food appears to consist more of 

 full grown beetles than of Iarv?e, though the birds 

 collect the greater portion of it from trees, especially 

 fruit trees in orchards in places where such are to be 

 found. 



Hairy Woodpecker (P. Villosm). The habits of 

 this bird pretty much resemble those of the species 

 last mentioned. In winter and early spring, it is 

 much in the inhabited grounds, and clears trees, 

 posts, and all wooden erections from the depreda- 

 tions of insects. These last services are of no in- 

 considerable importance in a country like America, 

 where so many dwelling houses and other buildings 

 are constructed of wood. Insects destroy these to a 

 very great extent ; and therefore the woodpeckers 

 which come about the wooden buildings and fences, 



