THE RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER 



(^Melanerpes carolinus. ) 



The handsome Red-bellied Wood- 

 pecker has a fairly extensive range, but 

 it is common only in southern and west- 

 ern portions. This range includes the 

 eastern and southern United States, as 

 far northward, casually, as New York, 

 Ontario, Michigan and South Dakota. 

 To the westward its range extends to 

 Nebraska, Kansas and Texas and pos- 

 sibly it may be an occasional visitant as 

 far to the west as the base of the Rocky 

 Mountains. It is one of the most com- 

 mon of the woodpeckers in southern 

 Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. Major 

 Bendire says that it is a constant res- 

 ident south of about latitude 39 degrees, 

 and that not a few winter, even at the 

 northern limits of its range. As is the 

 case with many birds which have a rather 

 extensive distribution and are abundant 

 only in certain localities, the bird of our 

 illustration is burdened with a number 

 of common names. It is also called the 

 Carolina and the Checkered Wood- 

 pecker. It is sometimes given the name 

 Woodchuck, but its most beautiful name 

 is that of Zebra Bird. In the south, es- 

 pecially in Florida, where it is especially 

 fond of the sweet juice of oranges it is 

 called the Orange Sapsucker. The adult 

 males of this species vary greatly in the 

 amount of red color in the plumage of 

 the lower parts. Specimens found in 

 the western portion of its range are 

 usually more brightly colored, the plum- 

 age of the under surface of the body 

 being more deeply tinged with red, than 

 is the case with those found in the At- 

 lantic States. 



The Red-bellied Woodpeckers are 

 generally considered rather shy and re- 

 tiring in their habits. While this is 

 probably true in many localities where 

 it frequents only forests, Mr. Ridgway 

 did not find it so in Illinois. He says : 

 "Next to the red-head (Melanerpes ery- 

 throcephalus) this is probably the most 

 abundant Woodpecker in southern Illi- 

 nois. It is also, perhaps with the same 



exception, the most conspicuous and, 

 instead of being shy and retiring, as has 

 been recorded of it by writers, it is al- 

 most constantly to be seen in orchards 

 and the vicinity of houses, as well as in 

 the depths of the forest." 



The Red-bellied Woodpeckers, like 

 nearly all of their relatives, are rather 

 noisy birds. Their call note is quite 

 similar to that of the red-headed species. 

 Mr. Amos W. Butler has described its 

 call as sounding like the syllables kurr- 

 urr-urr and he also speaks of the notes 

 which they utter when hammering or 

 when disturbed, as resembling the 

 syllables chozv-chow. However, these 

 last notes sound more like syllables 

 spelled chawh-chawh. But this is 

 not all, for they utter some very un- 

 pleasant notes which can not be ex- 

 pressed, and during the season of mat- 

 ing they utter low cooing sounds which 

 might be likened to those uttered by the 

 mourning dove. 



The food of the Red-bellied Wood- 

 pecker consists of both animal and vege- 

 table substances, probably in nearly 

 equal proportions. Their animal food 

 consists of grasshoppers, beetles, flies, 

 ants, as well as larvae of various species. 

 Their vegetable food consists chiefly of 

 wild fruits and seeds, such as juniper 

 berries, wild grapes, poke berries, beech- 

 nuts and acorns, and in coniferous re- 

 gions, pine seeds. Unfortunately, they 

 also eat to a limited extent cultivated 

 fruits, such as blackberries, strawberries, 

 cherries, apples and oranges. They are 

 very fond of ripe apples and have some- 

 times become a nuisance when numerous 

 in the vicinit}^ of apple orchards. But 

 it has been demonstrated that these birds 

 are worthy of protection for the amount 

 of cultivated fruits which they eat is 

 greatly overbalanced by the number of 

 insects and their larvae which they de- 

 stroy. 



The nesting habits of these Wood- 

 peckers are very interesting. The nest- 



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