TWELVE WINTER BIRDS. 269 



tion ; while the distant hut rapidly nearing caw-caw of 

 a flying crow lent strength to the denial. Wood- 

 peckers and crows ! ^o winter day too dull and 

 dreary no sky too leaden and cheerless : no north 

 wind too harsh and biting, for them to he on the 

 lookout for food ! 



To my surprise and delight I found the bird in the 



beech to be that handsome, tri-colored fellow known 



as the " red-headed woodpecker." This species which, 



it is said, first excited the latent enthusiasm of that 



eminent naturalist, Alexander Wilson, 



* ^ ed = h aded an d determined him to be an orni- 

 Woodpecker. 



thologist, ranges over the whole of the 



eastern United States from the Atlantic to the Rocky 

 Mountains. Its long scientific name is Melanerpes 

 erythrocephalus (L.) ; melanerpes meaning "black 

 creeper," and erythrocephalus, " red-headed." 



The "red-head" is so different in color from all 

 other woodpeckers that that one character alone will 

 be sufficient to describe him for easy recognition. In 

 adults, or full grown specimens of. both sexes, the 

 whole head and neck are a brilliant crimson ; the 

 under parts of the body, the shorter wing feathers or 

 secondaries, and the rump are white ; while the 

 remainder of the body is a glossy blue-black. In the 

 young the head and neck are grayish, or slightly 

 tinged with red. The length from tip of bill, along 

 the back, to end of longest tail feather is 8J to 9|- 

 inches. 



The nest of the red-head is usually placed in a 

 cavity which it excavates in a limb or trunk of tree 

 at some distance from the ground ; but often, for want 



