AVES—W OODPECKER. 55} 
sends forth a !oud cry, upon which the whole insect tribe are thrown mto 
zonfusion, and run hither and thither seeking for safety; while the invader 
luxuriously feasts upon them at leisure, darting in its long tongue, and de- 
vouring the whole brood. 
The woodpecker, however, does not confine its depredations solely to trees, 
but sometimes alights upon the ground, to try its fortune at an ant-hill. It 
first goes to their hills, which it pecks, in order to call them abroad; it then 
thrusts out its long red tongue, which being like a worm, and resembling 
their usual prey, the ants come out to settle upon it in great numbers; how- 
ever, the bird, watching the properest opportunity, withdraws its tongue at 
a jerk, and devours the devourers. This stratagem it continues, till it has 
alarmed their fears, or till it is quite satisfied. 
As the woodpecker is obliged to make holes in trees to procure food, so it 
is also to make cavities still larger to form its nest and to layin. This is 
performed, as usual, with the bill; although some have affirmed that the 
animal uses its tongue as a gimlet, to bore with. But this is a mistake; 
and those that are curious, may often hear the noise of the bill making its 
way in large woods and forests. The woodpecker chooses, however, for 
this purpose, trees that are decayed, or wood that is soft, like beech, elm, 
and poplar. In these, with very little trouble, it can make holes as exactly 
round as a mathematician could ,;with compasses. One of these holes the 
bird generally chooses for its own use, to nestle and bring up its young in; 
but as they are easily made, it is delicate in its choice, and often makes 
twenty before one is found fit to give entire satisfaction. 
The woodpecker takes no care to line its nest with feathers or straw; its 
eggs are deposited in the hole, without any thing to keep them warm, except 
the heat of the parent’s body. Their number is generally five or six ; always 
white, oblong, and of a middle size. When the young are excluded, and 
before they leave the nest, they are adorned with a scarlet plumage under the 
throat, which adds to their beauty. 
THE BED-HEADED, WOODPECKERS 
Is one of the most remarkable of American birds. Its tri-colored plumage, 
red, white, and black, is so striking and characteristic, and his predatory 
habits in the orchards and corn-fields, added to his numbers and fondness for 
hovering along the fences, so very notorious, that almost every child is ac- 
quainted with the red-headed woodpecker. Towards the mountains, par- 
ticularly in the vicinity of creeks and rivers, these birds are extremely 
abunilant, especially in the latter part of the summer. Wherever you travel 
— 

1 Picus erythrocephalus, Li. 
