AVES 



247 



FIG. 281'. E. 



hairy woodpecker and the 

 downy woodpecker, very sim- 

 ilar in appearance, are the 

 ones seen about lawns and 

 parks. The red-headed 

 woodpecker nesting in the 

 hollow of telegraph poles 

 and trees is common in 

 many regions. 



Cuckoos (Coccyges) 



This order is represented 

 throughout eastern North America by the black-billed 

 and yellow-billed cuckoos, sometimes called rain crows. 



They are valuable 

 summer residents 

 among the shrub- 

 bery and in the 

 orchards and 

 woods where they 

 devour great quan- 

 tities of hairy cat- 

 erpillars and other 

 insects. During 

 May and June, tent 

 caterpillars consti- 

 tute about half 

 their fare. The 

 belted kingfisher, 

 common in most 



FIG. 282. The wood thrush at her nest. One fifth 



life size. Photograph by N. F, Davis. parts OI Olir COUU- 



