AVERY BIRD COLLECTION 63 



he had a rabbit. I put my hand into his pouch and pulled 

 out — Oh, horrors! — four mockingbirds." 



In the summer of 1888 a specimen was catalogued with- 

 out date, the entry followed by this note : 



"My little nephew, Willie Cobbs, shot this bird, a pet, 

 which had nested in my lot. M. erythrocephalus (red- 

 headed woodpecker) is scarce in this locality. When I 

 was a boy it was one of the commonest birds of this coun- 

 try." 



The foregoing statements are especially interesting in 

 view of the Doctor's terse published note on the species 

 which appeared in 1890 : "Abundant. Summer resident. 

 A few remain during the winter. Breeds." (189Ce). 



It is doubtful that there has been any great diminution 

 in numbers of this woodpecker, in spite of its unwonted 

 persecution, because its natural enemies are compara- 

 tively few and with the "deadening" of timber incident 

 upon the opened up of new lands its food supply has been 

 augmented and the number of desirable nesting sites in- 

 creased. 



The present writer deplores with the Doctor the wan- 

 ton destruction of our beneficial birds, that continues 

 even at this time, but he would point out that the negro 

 is not alone responsible. After more than thirty years 

 of educational work on the part of the United States 

 Department of Agriculture, the ornithological societies, 

 and lesser agencies, it is indeed a sad commentary upon 

 our civilization that our whites still persist in using as 

 targets the protectors of our crops, orchards and forests. 



No. 554. Sex (?). Greensboro. July 28, 1890. W. C. Avery. 

 No. 829. Male. Greensboro. May 2, 1891. W. C. Avery. 

 ,No. 832. Male. Greensboro. May 4, 1891. W. C. Avery. 



94. CENTURUS CAROLINUS (Linnseus). 

 Red-bellied Woodpecker. 



After the record of No. 51, listed below, the stomach 

 of which "contained portions of acorns and beetles," oc- 

 curs this note : 



"This bird is common in this country ; but like its rela- 

 tive the red-headed woodpecker (Melcmerpes erythroce- 

 phalus) it is becoming every year scarcer." 



