234 WOODPECKERS. 



Range. — Eastern North America ; breeds from Florida to northern New 

 Yorli and Manitoba ; winters from Virginia, and occasionally from northern 

 New Yoi'k southward. 



Washington, rather common S. K., rare W. V. Sing Sing, rare P. K., 

 common in fall, Aug. 27 to Oct. 12. Cambridge, irregular at all seasons; 

 sometimes common in fall. 



Nest., generally in a dead tree. Eggs., four to six, I'OO x 'TS. 



Give a bird a,n abundance of its favorite food, and its movements 

 no longer seem to be governed by the calendar. Eed-headed Wood- 

 peckers were supposed to migrate southward in the fall and pass the 

 winter south of Maryland until Dr. Merriam, in his interesting ac- 

 count * of the habits of this species, told us that in Lewis County, 

 northern New York, their abundance in winter was in no way affected 

 by the severity of the weather, but was entirely dependent upon the 

 success of the crop of beechnuts which constitute their food. 



Indeed, few birds seem better able to adapt themselves to their 

 surroundings. They change their fare and habits with the season, 

 and to the accomplishments of Woodpeck-ers add those of Flycatchers 

 and fruit-eaters. We should expect, therefore, to find them very gen- 

 erally distributed, but in the Northern States they show an evident 

 choice for certain localities, and may be wanting over wide stretches 

 of intervening territory. 



They are noisy, active birds, and their loud, rolling, tree-toadlike 

 call, ker-r-ruck, Icer-r-ruck, and bright colors combine to render them 

 conspicuous. When on the wing the white secondaries of both adult 

 and immature birds make a striking field mark. 



409. Melanerpes carolinus {Linn.). Eed-eellied Woodpecker. 

 ^^. ^. — Whole top of the head and back of the neck bright scarlet; back 

 regularly barred with black and white ; primaries black at the end, white, 

 irregularly barred with black, at the base ; secondaries black, regularly spotted 

 and barred with white ; upper tail-coverts white, with streaks or arrowheads 

 of black ; outer tail-feathers and inner vanes of the middle ones irregularly 

 marked with broken black and white bars ; cheeks and under parts dull ashy 

 white, the region about the base of the bill, the middle of the belly, and some- 

 times the breast more or less tinged with red. Ad. 9 . — Similar, but with the 

 crown grayish ashy, the scarlet confined to the nape and nostrils. Im. — Simi- 

 lar, but with the belly sometimes tinged with buify instead of red. L., 9-50; 

 W., 5-00 ; T., 3-40 ; B., I'lO. 



Bange.— Eastern. Dnited States, breeding from Florida to Maryland, and 

 in the interior to Ontario and southern Dakota ; occasionally strays to Massa- 

 chusetts ; wintei-s from Virginia and southern Ohio southward. 



Washington, locally common P. E. Cambridge, A. V., one record. 



Nest, in trees, about twenty feet from the ground. Eggs, four to six, 

 1-05 X -TS. 



* BuU. Nutt. Cm. Club, iii, 1878, pp. 123-128. 



