212 PILEATED WOODPECKER 



In the south the bird is common and has been 

 seen eating oranges, but as it confines itself to 

 decayed or very ripe fruit it only harms the grow- 

 ers who keep their oranges for the late market ; 

 and Major Bendire says that the little harm it 

 does is fully atoned for by the great number of 

 larva? and insects which it eats at the same time. 

 He unquestioningly puts it on the list of birds 

 that deserve protection. 



In Texas it is said to nest in telegraph poles. 



Pileated Woodpecker ; Cock-of-the-Woods : 



Ceophloeus pileatus. 



Head and crest scarlet ; a whitish stripe on each side of face 

 and neck ; body blackish brown. Length, 17 inches. 



GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION. " Formerly whole wooded region 

 of North America south of latitude 63 ; now rare or extir- 

 pated in the more thickly settled parts of the eastern states." 



When a child I visited the Adirondacks with 

 some enthusiastic young ornithologists, and I shall 

 never forget the excitement of the moment when 

 a loud rapping on a high tree near the lake an- 

 nounced the presence of this noble Cock-of-the- 

 woods. Our boat was speedily put ashore, and 

 the young naturalists vanished in search of the 

 magnificent bird. Since then, when rowing on 

 Lake Placid, I have caught a glimpse of his splen- 

 did figure on the wooded border of the lake, but 

 the sight is becoming rarer with the settlement of 

 the region. In the hummocks and cypress swamps 

 of Florida, however, Mr. Chapman tells us the 



