90 ORNITHOLOGY AND OOLOGY. 



head, the lower not running into the forehead; beneath white; wing much spotted 

 with white; the larger coverts with two series each; tertiaries or inner secondaries 

 all banded with white ; two outer tail feathers white, with two bands of black at the 

 end, third white at tip and externally. Male, with red terminating the white feathers 

 on the nape ; legs and feet bluish-green ; claws light-blue tipped with black ; iris 

 dark-hazel. 



Length, about six and a quarter inches ; wing, three and three-quarters. 



This little Woodpecker — the smallest we have — is abun- 

 dantly distributed throughout New England, and is a resi- 

 dent througbout the year. The exceedingly interesting 

 description of its habits, by Wilson, is so full that I will give 

 it entire. He says : — 



" About the middle of May, the male and female look out for a 

 suitable place for the reception of their eggs and young. An apple, 

 pear, or cherry tree — often in the near neighborhood of the farm- 

 house — is generally fixed upon for this purpose. The tree is mi- 

 nutely reconnoitred for several days previous to the operation ; and 

 the work is first begun by the male, who cuts out a hole in the solid 

 wood as circular as if described with a pair of compasses. He is 

 occasionally relieved by the female, both parties working with the 

 most indefatigable diligence. The direction of the hole, if made in 

 the body of the tree, is generally downwards, by an angle of thirty 

 or forty degrees, for the distance of six or eight inches, and then 

 straight down for ten or twelve more : within, roomy, capacious, 

 and as smooth as if polished by the cabinet-maker; but the entrance 

 is judiciously left just so large as to admit the bodies of the owners. 

 During this labor, they regularly carry out the chips, often strewing 

 them at a distance, to prevent suspicion. This operation sometimes 

 occupies the chief part of a week. Before she begins to lay, the 

 female often visits the place, passes out and in, examines every 

 part — both of the exterior and interior — with great attention 

 (as every prudent tenant of a new house ought to do), and at 

 length takes complete possession. The eggs are generally six, — 

 pure-white, and laid on the smooth bottom of the cavity. The 

 male occasionally supplies the female with food while she is sitting ; 

 and, about the last week in June, the young are perceived making 

 their way up the tree, climbing with considerable de*xterity. All 

 this goes on with great regularity where no interruption is met 



