Tin: <ii.i>- ii I\(;KI> ii '/'//'//.< A /:/,. 



Kxery en.' who ho* hu<l ]>ru-iii-:il ex]M-rience of this l>ird agrees that il i> vi\ iuU<-hi-\<>iis 

 in a .ir.iiil.-ii ; and N'-II \Vi!-in. whose kind heart W"uM hardly jwrniil liim to TO thut any 

 f.-aihen-d creatntv roul'l IN- Imiifiil to man, is forced t admit tint it.s rol>l>erie8 am very 

 ,-\!.-MM\... I .lit , .'i.:L ::..'. OOMI II i H > :.'"....; "..i i. .. ' . .>. -- i ::. I : i I :' ! -M' i ;i_- -. in my 

 urut'v NVhervverthereisatreeortreesofthe wild cli.-n\." \\rites\Vilson, "covered with 



ripe fr.iit. th-n- >'>a see them busy a ni; 'hi- branches. anl in passing orchards \ou may 



MBily know where t<i liiul the earliest an. I -\\.fti-st appl.-s, by ol.~.|\ iu^ those trees <m or near 

 which the Red-headed Woodpecker i> skulking. .For he is soexcell-nt a connoisseur in fruit, 

 that wherever an apple or pear tree i-* found broached hy him. it i-* sim- to U- amoiu; the rijH-st 

 am) i--' flavored ; when ahtfOMd, bl HtMBfta^italoajabg itrikin^ in- -i-u I >iil .1. . p into it. 

 and U-ars it oil to the woods. 



\\'h.ii the Indian corn is in ita rich, -nc.-ul.-ni. milky state, he attacks it with great 

 eagerness, opening a passage through the numerous folds of the husks, and feeding on it with 

 vonnity. The girdled or deadened timber, so common unions rorn-lirlds in the hack settle- 

 in, -nts, ure his favorite n-tn-ats, whence he sallies out to muke -his depredations. He is fond 

 of the ripe berries of the sour gum, and pays pn-tty regular visits to tin- hi-rry-trees when 

 load.-d with fruit. Towards fall he oft-n approach.-* th.- ham or farm-house, and raps on the 

 shingles and weather-t>oards. He is of a gay and frolirMim.- di{>osition, and half a dozen of 

 thi- fraternity are frequently seen diving and vociferating around the high dead limbs of some 

 large tree, pursuing and playing with each other, and amusing the passenger with their gambols. 



"Their note or cry is shrill and lively, and so much resembles that of a species of tree- 

 frog which inhabits the. same tree that it is sometimes difficult to distinguish the one from the 

 other." 



On account of the garden-robbing propensities of this bird, it is held in much odium, and 

 trapped whenever occasion offers itself. In some places the feeling against it was so strong, 

 that a reward was offered for it* destruction. It is probable, however, that the servivs which 

 it renders by the destruction of noxious insects may more than compensate for its autumnal 

 ravages in the fields and orchards. 



Unlike the previous species, which is a ]>ermanent inhabitant, the Red-headed Woodpecker 

 is a bird of passage, appearing in Pennsylvania about the beginning of May, and leaving that 

 country towards the end of OtoU-r. The eggs of this bird are pure white, speckled with 

 reddish -brown, mostly towards the larger end, and generally six in number. 



The adult male is a really beautiful bird, its plumage glowing with steely-block, snowy- 

 white, an 1 brilliant scarli-t. disj>o8ed as follows: The head and neck are deep scarlet, and the 

 upper parts of the body are black, with a sN-el-blne gloss. The upper tail-coverts, the second- 

 aries, the breast and alHlom.-n. an- pun- white. The beak is IL'ht Line, deepening into black 

 towards the tip ; the legs and feet ore blue-green, the claws blue, and round the eye there is a 

 patch of bare skin of a dusky color. The female is colored like her mate, except that her 

 tints are not so brilliant. The young of the first year have the head and neck blackish gray, 

 and the white on the wings is variegated with black. The total length of the bird is between 

 nin>- and ten inches. 



THE Ground Woodpeckers are represented by the OOLD-WIKOKD WOODPECKEB of 

 Am.-rica. 



This bird may lay claim to th- title of the feathered ant-eater, for it feeds very largely on 

 those insects, and has its beak shaped in a somewhat pickaxe-like form, in order to enable it 

 to dig up their nests from the ground and the decaying stumps of trees. In the stomach of 

 one of the-*- birds Wilson found a mass of ante nearly as large as a plum. It also feeds much 

 on woodlice, those destructive creatures which eat the bitterest and the toughest substances 

 with the U-st of appetites, and have been known to render a boat unsafe for sea, in spite of the 

 strong flavor of salt water, pitch, and tar, with which seafaring boats are so liberally imbued. 



It is a brisk, lively, and playful creature, skipping about the trunks of trees with great 

 activity, and "hopping not only upwards and downwards, but spirally, pursuing and playing 

 with its fellow in this manner round the body of the tree." I may here mention that I never 



