WOODPECKERS 



Picidee. 



^OODPECKERS, the guardians and protectors of our forests, are common 



birds all over the country where woods abound. They are easily 



distinguished from other birds by their stiff, elastic, pointed, and 



graduated tail-feathers, which are used as a support in climbing* 



up the tree trunks, their ends being pressed against the bark, 



to prevent retrogression. The bill is angular and wedgeshaped, 



forming a powerful hammer or axe, with which to cut off chips of bark or 



wood in search of insects, or to dig holes into the w^ood for nesting and 



roosting purposes. 



Peing solitary birds, the Woodpeckers rarely associate with others of their 

 own kind. Some of the smaller species, like the Downy and Hairy Wood- 

 pecker, etc., seem to be fond of the society of Titmice, Creepers, Nuthatches, 

 Chickadees, Kinglets, etc., during their rambles through the woods in autumn 

 and winter. "During the breeding season some species are known to produce a remark- 

 able whirring sound, the so-called 'drumming,' by rapidly striking a dry branch, which 

 can be heard to a great distance. This seems to be the male's love-song." 



The flight is generally powerful, but undulating if kept up for some distance and 

 not very far. During their search for food, they fly from trunk to trunk, ascending 

 them by starts from the lower part until they reach the top, whence, in a single curve, 

 they descend to the base of the next. The eggs are glossy white. 



The Woodpeckers inhabiting our country are divided into the following genera: 



1, Campephilus Gray. Ivory-billed Woodpeckers. One species. 



2, Dryobates BoiE. Hairy Woodpeckers. Six species. 



3, Xenopicus Baird. White-headed Woodpeckers. One species. 



4, Picoides Lacepede. Three-toed Woodpeckers. Two species. 



5, Sphyrapicus Baird. Sapsuckers. Three species. 



6, Ceophlceus Cabanis. Pileated Woodpeckers. One species. 



7, Melanerpes Swainson. Red-headed Woodpeckers. Six species. 



8, Colaptes Swainson. Flickers. Four species. 



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