16 WOODPECKERS 



This bird, "with the crimson tuft of feathers," was the iden- 

 tical Mama which gave Hiawatha the timely "tip" which 

 enabled him to put the finishing touch to old Megissogwon, 

 and so end in triumph "the greatest battle that the sun had 

 ever looked on." 



As a return for this kindness, Hiawatha did the one mean 

 act of his life. He took Mama's little red scalp, and "decked" 

 his pipe-stem with it, — as coolly as if he had been a modern 

 servant-girl decorating a forty-nine-cent hat. 



This is a very showy bird, and recognizable almost as far 

 as it can be seen, — brilliant crimson head and neck; white 

 breast, sides and rump, and jet-black back and tail. In the 

 Mississippi Valley, thirty years ago, this was one of the most 

 common birds. Now, thanks to man's insatiable desire to 

 "kill something" that is unprotected, it has been so greatly 

 reduced in number that it is seldom seen. It is an omnivorous 

 feeder, eating insects, fruit, beech-nuts, corn and other grain, 

 according to necessity. Its cry is loud and far-reaching, and 

 sounds like "Choor ! CTioor !" As to migrating, it seems un- 

 able to make up its mind whether to become a "regular mi- 

 grant" or a "winter resident." Sometimes it migrates south- 

 ward during the early winter, and sometimes it winters in the 

 North. 



An examination of the stomachs of one hundred and one 

 Red-Headed Woodpeckers revealed 50 per cent of animal 

 food and 45 per cent vegetable. Of the former, ants made up 

 11 per cent, and beetles 31 per cent. The fruit and vegetable 

 food represented five kinds of cultivated fruit (strawberries, 

 blackberries, cherries, apples and pears), and fifteen kinds of 



