578 



NORTH AMERICAN BI-RDS. 



It is probaldy true that tliey usuuny excavate their own burrow, but tliis 

 is not an invariabk* rule. In tin- fall of LsTo a pair of these Woodpeckers 

 took shelter in my l»arn, remaining,' there during the winter. Altliouuli there 

 were abuiuUint means of entrance and of egress, tliev wiou'dit lor themselves 

 other passaj^es out and in tiiiouj^h the most solid part of t\ui sides of the 

 buildinji;. Karly in the spring tliey took possession of a large cavity in an 

 old ai>])le-tri'e, directly on the path between the barn and the house, where 

 they reared their family. They were very shy, and rarely j>erniitted them- 

 selves to be seen. The nest contained six young, each of which had been 

 hatched at successive intervals, leaving the nest one after the other. The 

 youngest was nearly a Ibrtnight later to depart than the first. Just before 

 leaving the nest, the oUlest bird climbed to the opening of tlie cavity, tilling 

 the whole si)ace, and uttering a h>ud liissing sound whenever the nest was 

 api)roaclied. As soon as tliey could use their wings, even partially, they 

 were removed, one by (jne, to a more retired part of the grounds, where they 

 were fed by their parents. 



Throughout Massachusett.^ this bird, generally known as the Pigeon 

 Woodpecker, is <»ne of the most connnrjn and familiar birds. They abound 

 in old orchards and groves, and manifest more apparent confidence in man 

 than the treatment tht^y receive at his hands seems to justify. Their nests 

 are usually constructed at the distance of only a few feet from the ground, 

 and though Wilson, Audubon, and Xuttall agree upon six as the average 

 of their eggs, they freciuently exceed this number. Mr. Audubon gives as 

 the measurement of the eggs of this species 1.08 inches in length and .88 

 of an inch in breadth. Their length varies from l.Oo to 1.15 inches, and 

 their breadth from .91 to .Sd of an inch. Their average measurement 

 is 1.09 by .88 of an inch. 



Colaptes mexicanus, Swainson. 



RED-SHAFTED FLICXEB. 



Colaptes meximmis, Sw. Syn. Mex. Birds, in Philos. Mag. I, 1827, 440. — Tb. F. Bor. Am. 

 II, 1831, 315. — NEwnEiiitY, Zool. Cal. & Or. Route, 91 ; P. R. R. Rep. VI, 1857. — 

 Baird, Birds N. Am. 1858, 120. —Max. Cab. Jour. 1858, 420, mixed with InihrUhis. 

 — Lord, Proc. R. Art. Inst. I, iv, 112. — Cooper k Suckley, 163. — Sclater, 

 P. Z. S. 1858, 309 (Oaxaca). — Ib. Cat. 1862, 344. —Dresser, Ibis, 1865, 470 (San 

 Antonio, rare^. — CouEs, Pr. A. N. S. 1866, 56. — Sumichp.ast, Mem. Bost. Soc. I, 

 1869, 562 ^alpine district, Vera Cruz). — Gray, Cat. 1868, 121. — Dall k Bannister, 

 Pr. Chicago Ac. I, 1869, 275 (Alaska). —Coopeh, Orn. Cal. I, 1870, 408. Picus mr.ri- 

 canus, AuD. Orn. Biog. V, 1839, 174, |»1. cecexvi. — Ib. Birds America, IV, 1842, 29.5, 

 pi. cclxxiv. — Sundevall, Consp. 72. Col npfes collar is. Vigors, Zoiil. Jour. IV, Jan. 

 1829, 353. — Ib. Zoiil. Beechey's Voy. 1839, 24, pi. ix. Picm rvhrkatus, Waoler, 

 \ Isis, 1829, V, May, 516. (" Lichtenstein Mus. Berol.") Colnpfffs ruhricatiis, Bon. Pr. 

 Zoiil. Soc. V, 1837, 108. — Ib. List, 1838. — Ib. Conspectus, 1850, 114. ? Picuscnfer, 

 Gmelin, Syst. Nat. I, 1788, 431. - L.\th. Index Omith. II, 1790, 242. 1 Picus 

 lathami, Wagler, Syst. 1827, No. 85 (Cape of Good Hope ?). 



