Birds of Massachusetts. à ^E 
nest, in which it lays five or six white eggs. Some- 
times it saves itself this labor, by, making use of a 
hollow tree. The young remain for a considerable 
time with their parents, who feed them till their bills 
are grown hard enough to procure a subsistence for 
themselves. "This is not the case at first; for two Í- 
or three months, the bill is so soft that it can be bent - 
with the fingers, and it takes twice that time to 
harden it for the rough uses to which it is to be ap- 
plied. In the south, this bird is called the Log-cock ; 
. and the Black Woodcock, in the middle states. 
The Rep-neapep Woonprrckrn, Picus erythro- 
cephalus, is a very elegant bird, and perhaps the 
most common of this familiar race. When Wilson 
first landed in this country, long before he devoted 
himself to ornithology, as he was walking from New- 
castle to Philadelphia, he shot one of these birds ; 
its fine appearance and rich colors struck his imagi- 
nation so much, that it had an influence in determin- 
ing his mind to that pursuit for which he was after- 
wards renowned. After spending the winter in the 
south, this bird returns to us in May, after which it 
is very common in the interior, though somewhat 
rare in the eastern part of the State. It makes its 
home in the woods, but spends most of its time in 
gardens, particularly at the time when the best fruits 
are ripe. It helps itself with the utmost freedom, 
caring little for the rights or threats of the owner. 
Fruit like apples, too large to be eaten on the spot, 
it carries away, striking it with a jerk of the head, 
and flying off with the apple sticking on its bill. 
