-,12 NORTH A.^^ERI^AN niRDs. 



cbscrihes tlio oiitmuce to i\n: rxciiviitidii iis often boinj,' at right angles to the 

 trunk Torn lew iiii'lics Ipcl'ore it descends, lie states that in the SoutiuM'ii 

 and Middle Slates two liruods are raised in a season, farther north seldom 

 more tiian one. 



jNIr. C. S. I'aine, of Tiandolph, Vt, s^ieaks of this "Woodpeeker as being one 

 of tiio most common and familiar, in Vermont, of the family. Tiieyarc to be 

 met with in ids neigidioriiood at all seasons of lh(! year, tiiough he is of tlie 

 opinion that many of them go soutli to spend the winter. They deposit their 

 eggs about tlie lirst of .June in tiie very snug little e.\eavations they prepare. 

 Tiie male bird will .sometimes priipare a .separate apartment for himself, apart 

 from his mate. Mr. I'aine lias taken the male in sueli a hole by himself, and 

 witliout any nest or eggs, evidently only prepared for shelter. 



This Woo(lp(!fker lias a single n<jte or cry, sounding like chink, which it 

 Irecpiently repeats. When it Hies, and often when it aliglits, this cry is 

 more slirill and prolonged. They are very industrious, and are constantly 

 employed in search of insects, chiefly in orciiards and the more open 

 groves. The orchard is its favorite resort, and it is particularly fond of bor- 

 ing the bark of apple-trees for insects. This fact, and the erroneous impres- 

 sion that it (ajis the trees for the sap, has given to these birds the connnon 

 name of 8apsuckers, and has caused an unjust jirejudice against tliem. 

 So far from doing any injury to the trees, they are of great and iinmi.xed 

 benefit. Wilson, who was at great pains to investigate the matter, declares 

 that he invariably found that those trees that were thus marked by the 

 Woodpecker were uniformly the most thriving and the most productive. 

 " Here, then," adds Wilson, " is a whole species — I may say genus — of 

 birds, which Providence seems to have formed for tlie protection of our fruit 

 and forest trees from the ravages of vermin, which every day destroy mil- 

 lions of those noxious insects that would otherwise blast the hopes of the 

 husbandman, and even promote the fertility of the tree, and in return 

 are proscribed by those who ought to have been their protectors." 



The egg of this species is nearly spherical, pure white, and measui-es .83 by 

 .72 of an inch. 



Ficus pubescens, var. gairdneri, Aud. 



OAIRSNEB'S WOODFECKEB. 



Piciis gairdiwri. Am. Orn. Biog. V, 1839, 317. — 1b. Syn. 1839, 180. — In. Birds Amcr. 

 IV, 1842, 252 (not figuml). — nAlltl), Riid'^ N. Am. IS.'iS, 91, pi. Ixxxv, f. 2, 3. — 

 Si-Ni)KVAi.i,, foiis]). 1866, 17. — (!ray, Cat. 1868, 44. — CoopEli & Suckley, 159. — 

 ScLATEii, Catal. 1862, 334. — JIat.ii. Moiiog. Pipidii-, I, 123. — Ca.s.s. P. A. N. S, 1863, 

 201. — CiPurEii, Oiii. Cal. I, 1870, 377. — Loiu), Pr. R. Art. Inst. IV, 1864, 111. 

 Piens mcridimudin, Xutt. Man. I, (2d cd,,) 1840, 6ii0 (not of Swaisson). — GA.MnEr,, 

 J. A. N. So. I, 1847, 55, 105. PicK.i lurall, Mamieuue, Mon. Pic. 1, 125, tali. 29 

 (small race, 5.50, from Monterey, C'al., nearest ^xfftf.fcoi.s). Dryohates turati, Cad. & 

 IIein. Mus. Hein. IV, 2, 1863, 65. Drijubalcs homorus, Cad. & Hein. Mus. Hein. IV, 

 2, 1863, 65 (larger, more spotted style). 



