THE IVOi; YIUl.l. KD WOODPBOffR. Ill 



for ten or twehe more; within n>onn >-. and a* smooth an if polished by the cabinet 



maker; but tin- entrance i-. judiciously l.-ft just so large M to admit the bodies of the owners. 

 Unnng this lalK>r thc\ r.-nlarly carry out the chips. .ft,-n sin-w ing them at a distance 

 t<> piv\ent MI-! i, -i. .11. Tin- ni-eration sometimes occupies the chief part of a week. Before 

 she logins to la\ ill- f.-m:ii,- oft.-n \ i-n> the place, passes in and oat, examines every part of 



the exterior and iatarfqi '.".. ' ittentiOB -.:>;: i ! -r :.-, >. ' i '., A II.MI- ...... i ;.. 



do, and at length takes complete possession. Tho eggs are generally -i\. pure I . laid 



in the smooth bottom of th<> cavity. The mule occasionally supplies the female with food 

 while -.! is sitting, ami aUnit the but week in June the young are perceived making their 

 way up the tree, climliini; with considerable dexterity." 



Tho same writer then proceeds to remark that tin- pnx-ess of nest-making is not always 

 ]xTiiiitted to go on without hindrance, for the impertinent little house-wren, who likes to Imil.l 

 her nest in hollows, but who is not strong or large enough to scoop u habitation for herwlf, 

 will often allow the Woodpeckers to make, a nice deep hoi.-, just tit for a wren's nest, and then 

 drives ili. -in otT ami tak.-s possession of the deserted domicile. One pair of Woodworkers met 

 with very liurd treatment, U-im: twice turne<l out of their lions*- in one season, and the second 

 time they were even forced to abandon one egg that had IH-.-M lai<l. 



The holes mode by this Woodpecker in trees are very numerous, and have often led more 

 observant orchard -owners to think the bird an enemy to th.-ir trees, and to kill it accordingly. 

 Wilson has, however, completely exonerated the bird from tin- charge, and proved it to be a 

 useful ally to man instead of a noxious foe. "Of all our Woodpeckers, none rid the appl.- 

 trees of so many vermin as this ; digging off the mum which the negligence of tin- proprietor 

 had suffered to accumulate, and probing every crevice. In fact, the orchard is his favorite 

 resort in all seasons ; and his industry is unequalled and almost incessant, which is more than 

 can be said of any other species we have. 



" In fall he is particularly fond of boring the apple-trees for insects, digging a circular hole 

 through the bark, just sufficient to admit his bill; after that a second, third, et<-., in pn-tty 

 regular horizontal circles round the body of the tree. These parallel circles of holes are often 

 not more than an inch or an inch and a half apart, and sometimes so close together, that I 

 have covered eight or ten of them at once with a dollar. From nearly the surfac> of the 

 ground up to the first fork, and sometimes far beyond it, the whole bark of many apple-trees 

 is perforated in this manner, so as to appear as if made by successive discharges of buckshot ; 

 and our little Woodpecker, the subject of the present account, is the principal perpetrator of 

 this supposed mischief. I say supposed, for, so far from these perforations of the bark being 

 ruinous, they are not only harmless, but, I have good reason to believe, really Iteneficiol to the 

 health and fertility of the tree. 



" In more than fifty orchards which I have myself carefully examined, those trees which 

 were marked by the Woodpecker (for some trees they never touch, perhaps because not pene- 

 trated by insects) were uniformly the most thriving, and seemingly the most productive. 

 Many of them were upwards of sixty years old, their trunks completely covered with holes, 

 while the branches were broad, luxuriant, and loaded with fruit. Of decayed trees, more 

 than three-fourths were untouched by the Woodpecker." 



Although a little bird less than seven inches in length it is a truly handsome one. The 

 crown of the head is velvety black, its back deep scarlet, and there is a white streak over the 

 eye. The back is black, but is divided by a lateral stripe of puffy or downy w hit- f.-athew. 

 The wings are block, spotted with white, and the tail is also variegat.-d with the same tint*. 

 From the base of the beak a block streak runs down the neck. The sides of the 71.-. k. th.> 

 throat, and the whole of the under parts of the body are white. The nostrils an- thi.-klv 

 covered with small, bristly feathers, probably to protect them from the .hijwof wood HI 

 off by the beak. The female is known by the grayish-wink- of the abdomen, and the absence 

 of red upon its head. 



ALTHOUGH not the largest of the Woodpecker triU-. tin- I\ v.\ -mi i.v.n Woooraozn, at 

 North America, is perhaps the handsomest and most striking in appearance. 



