PIG 



PIC 



length twelve inches, extent twenty inch- 

 es. They build their nest in the hollow 

 of an old tree, which they have been in- 

 strumental in forming 1 . The female lays 

 six white nearly transparent eggs in 

 April. Their food is not confined to the 

 larv?e of insects, but they delight in seve- 

 ral kinds of fruits, as cherries, gumbcr- 

 ries, grapes, and, perhaps, sometimes a 

 little Indian corn when in its milky or un- 

 ripe state, but the food on which his prin- 

 cipal reliance seems to be placed is the 

 Wood louse (Oniscus. Lin.) and the pu- 

 pa and young of ants, &c. 



P. erythrocephaliis, or Red-headed 

 Wood-pecker, is one of the most com- 

 mon of our birds, and is well known by 

 his appearance to almost every individual 

 in the United States, or even in North 

 America, from the conspicuous colours 

 with which he is decorated, as well as by 

 his constant recurrence, wherever there 

 are old trees to attract his attention, for 

 the larva: of insects they contain, and also 

 from his peculiar note and the loud noise 

 made by the strokes of his beak against 

 the wood, succeeding each other with al- 

 most incredible rapidity of succession. 

 Length nine inches and a half, extent se- 

 venteeen inches. Head and neck deep 

 scarlet; back, primaries, wing coverts 

 and tail black, with steel blue reflections, 

 rump, secondary feathers, lower parts of 

 the back, breast, abdomen and vent 

 white. The young bird does not receive 

 his full and perfect plumage until the 

 succeeding spring, his head and neck are 

 blackish grey. They form their nest in 

 some old tree, of which the wood is not so 

 Hard as to oppose any great obstacle to 

 their labours ; though it must be confess- 

 ed that they sometimes dig out wood of 

 a considerable degree of firmness. The 

 female deposits six white eggs, and the 

 young appear about the middle of June. 

 His food is Indian corn, fruit, &c. but 

 principally the larvae of insects ; these he 

 discovers by some means, unknown to us, 

 under the bark of decaying" trees, and ar- 

 rives at them by perforating it with his 

 bill; it isprobabable that, in his search for 

 this favourite food, he is guided by his 

 acute hearing, directed to catch the 

 sound of the gnawing hidden worm. In 

 Pennsylvania they migrate to the south- 

 ward in October, and return in May. 



P. ViUosus. Hairy Woodpecker of Ca- 

 tesby, is a very common bird in Pennsyl- 

 vania, and is one of the several species 

 familiarly known to almost every body 

 under the name of Sap-Sucker, derived 

 probably from a notion, that their con- 



stant labour in perforating trees is for 

 the purpose ot supplying themselves 

 with the sap of the tree as food ; but it is 

 well known to every naturalist, that theii* 

 object is exclusively the acquisition of 

 the larvcc of insects, by destroying which 

 they render essential service to man. 

 This bird is in length about nine inches, 

 arid in extent fifteen ; head white, crown 

 and broad line, which includes the eyes, 

 and descends on the hind neck to the 

 back, black ; hind head with a large scar- 

 let spot ; a line of black spots, from near 

 the base of the lower jaw, terminates in 

 a broad black stripe 'on the shoulder ; 

 back black, divided by a broad lateral 

 stripe of white, of which the feathers are 

 loose, resembling hairs, not being webb- 

 ed ; wings, black spotted with white ; 

 the four "middle tail feathers black, the 

 others whitish ; all beneath pure white; 

 nostrils concealed by very numerous 

 hairs. The female is destitute of the 

 scarlet spot on the hind head. 



This bird remains with us all winter ; 

 the female deposits her five white eggs 

 in May, and the young are hatched in June. 



P. Pubescens. Downy Woodpecker, 

 smallest woodpecker of Catesby. Tins 

 is the smallest of all our woodpeckers, 

 and is the species to which the term 

 S -p- Sucker is most usually applied, be- 

 ing exceeding common in orchards, &c. 

 where the apple and other fruit-trees 

 seem to be his favourite hunting places ; 

 in his pursuit of the larv^ of insects, he 

 forms those circular and regular bands 

 of small round holes which are so often 

 seen on apple trees. This species bears 

 a very striking resemblance to the pre* 

 ceding at first view, appearing to differ 

 from it only by its more diminutive sta- 

 tin e, but it is, nevertheless, an entirely 

 distinct species. Length six and three 

 quarter inches, extent twelve inches; 

 the same description will serve for this 

 as for the preceding, excepting that the 

 rump, tail, coverts, and four middle fea- 

 thers of the tail above, are black : the 

 three white feathers of the tail on each 

 side are spotted with black. The female 

 is destitute of the scarlet spot on the him 

 part of the head. 



P. Vaniis, or the yellow-bellied wood- 

 pecker of Catesby, is a companion of th 

 two preceding species, to which also it 

 bears some resemblance, and has in con- 

 sequence received the same vulgar name 

 of Sap-Sucker, from those who do not 

 take the trouble to observe the differen- 

 ces between the objects before them. 

 Length eight and a 'half, extent fifteen 



