SONGLESS BIRDS OF ORCHARD AND WOODLAND. 249 
Chickadee, or even the Tree Swallow; those of the Hairy 
Woodpecker may be used by Bluebirds, Martins, or Swal- 
lows ; those of the Flicker by the Screech Owl and the Wood 
Duck. The excavations made by Woodpeckers in securing 
insects are often used by the Chickadee or the Wren. 
Notwithstanding their usefulness, however, the Wood- 
peckers have been subject to the most senseless and unjust 
persecution for many years, merely because a single species, 
which rarely breeds in Massachusetts, feeds largely on the 
sap and cambium layer of both fruit trees and forest trees. 
This species (the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker) has not the 
strong, barbed tongue of the typical Woodpeckers. 
Eight species of Woodpecker occur in Massachusetts, but 
only two, the Downy Woodpecker and the Flicker, are com- 
mon residents throughout the State. The Hairy Wood- 
pecker is also common, though less so than the others, and 
more local: All other species are usually rare migrants, 
except the Sapsucker, which is seen regularly in spring and 
fall, and the Pileated Woodpecker, which is local. 
It is a popular error to speak of all Woodpeckers as either 
Sapsuckers or Red-headed Woodpeckers. The males of all 
our Woodpeckers have red on the back of the head or nape ; 
but the Red-headed Woodpecker has the head, throat, and 
neck red all round. Although once common locally in Mas- 
sachusetts, it is now rare ordinarily, and seldom breeds in 
the State. The birds now generally known in Massachu- 
setts as “Red-headed Woodpeckers ” are the species herein- 
after described under their proper names. 
Downy Woodpecker. 
Dryobates pubescens medianus. 
Length. — About six and one-half inches. 
Adult Male.— Upper parts black, striped, and barred with white; a small scarlet 
patch at the back of the head. : 
Adult Female. — Similar, but without the scarlet on head. 
Young.— The scarlet patch in the male gives place to reddish-brown. 
Nest.—In a hole made by the birds in a dead stump or limb. 
Eggs. — White. 
Season. — Resident. 
This sprightly little bird, the smallest of the Woodpeckers, 
is also the most useful. It is found commonly throughout 
