THE RED-HEADED WCX)DPECKER. 



421 



downy feathers which passes along its back. It is a native of America, 

 and very plentiful in various parts of that country. 



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 white feathers. 

 The wings are black, spotted with white, and the tail is also varie- 

 gated with the same tints. From the base of the beak a black streak 

 runs down the neck. The sides of the neck, the throat, and the whole 

 of the under parts of the body are white. The nostrils are thickly 

 covered with small bristly feathers, probably to protect them from the 

 chips of wood struck off by 

 the beak. The female is 

 known by the grayish white 

 of the abdomen and the ab- 

 sence of red upon its head. 



America possesses many 

 species of these birds, 

 among which the Red- 

 Headed Woodpecker 

 deserves a short notice, as 

 being a good representa- 

 tion of the Black Wood- 

 peckei-s. It is one of the 

 commonest of American 

 birds, bold, fearless of 

 man, and even venturing 

 within the precincts of 

 towns. 



The adult male is a 

 really beautiful bird, its 

 plumage glowing with 

 steely black, snowy white, 

 and brilliant scarlet, dis- 

 posed as follows : The 

 head and neck are deep 



scarlet, and the upper Woodpecker 



parts of the body are black, with a steel-blue gloss. The upper tail- 

 coverts, the secondaries, the breast, and abdomen are pure white. The 

 beak is light blue, deepening into black toward the tip ; the legs and 

 feet are 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 

 36 



Woodpeckers. 

 1. Red-headed W^oodpecker. 2. Yellow-bellied 

 Woodpecker. 3. Hairy Woodpecker. 4. Downy 



