THE EBD-HEADED WOODPECKEE. 109 



already been thrown out, and I caught the Red-head in the act, coming- out 

 of the hole with his bill stuck through the third. At that time I simply 

 considered this act on its part as a forcible appropriation of a coveted nesting 

 site, as suitable trees were scarce in this vicinity, and thought no more about 

 the matter. The next year I saw the following article in the "Oologist" (Vol. 

 3, April, 1886, p. 29), which I was rather reluctant to believe at first, written 

 by a gentleman signing himself L. B. F., Augusta, Ga.: 



^^Cannibalism of the Bed-headed Woodpecker. — I noticed two interesting inci- 

 dents last spring connected with a E,ed-headed Woodpecker, which may interest 

 the readers of the 'Oologist.' Early in May I found a nest of this bird contain- 

 ing six eggs, situated in the dead branches of an oak, 30 feet high. Near by a 

 Crested Titmouse had industriously carved out his little home, in which he was 

 feeding a nest full of young. A few days after, having taken the Woodpecker's 

 eggs (I needed them for my collection), I was watching the Titmouse's nest to 

 see him feed his little ones, when suddenly the owner of the robbed nest flew 

 down and lit near the entrance to the nest of its neighbor, and thrusting his 

 head inside, he deliberately drew out a young bird, carried it to a branch near 

 by, and ate it. He and his mate repeated the same action until they had killed 

 the whole brood; after which, having pulled out the lining of the nest, they flew 

 away. This was very surprising to me, as I have never heard of Woodpeckers 

 indulging in cannibalism before. But I had not yet done with the actions of 

 the Woodpeckers. A week or so after having broken up the Crested Titmouse 

 nest, I noticed the Red-heads repeatedly visiting the site of their old nest. This 

 aroused my curiosity, and supposing they had decided to lay a new clutch, I 

 visited the cavity to see whether my supposition was true. What was my sur- 

 prise to find that the hollow contained not eggs, but the decaying body of a 

 Great Crested Flycatcher. How it came there I know not; but I am fully 

 convinced that the Red-heads visited the spot for the purpose of devouring the 

 vermin which infested the decaying- flesh." 



A similar incident is recorded in the same pei'iodical (Vol. 5, June, 1889, 

 p. 113), where one of these birds was seen, near Hyde Park, Ontario, July, 1886, 

 carrying away a freshly killed young robin. Mr. W. G. Smith, formerly of 

 Loveland, Colorado, well known as a perfectly reliable and careful observer, 

 writes me: "The Red-headed Woodpecker is a common summer resident in 

 the lower foothills along the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains in this 

 State, and I consider it a veritable butcher among our Nuthatches and Chick- 

 adees, driving every one away from its nesting sites, and woe to the bird that 

 this villain can reach. It destrovs both ego-g and young-, drao-o-ino- the latter 

 out of their nests and freqiiently leaving them dead at the entrance of their 

 holes." 



Mr. Howard Jones, Circleville, Ohio, I believe was the first naturalist to 

 record the fact that this species robbed the nests of other birds of their eggs, 

 and states how a colony of Cliff Swallows which had established themselves 

 under the eaves of a large barn, near Mount Sterling, Ohio, was nearly exter- 



