In the Woods. 



179 



The nesting is like that of other woodpeckers, a hole excavated by the 

 birds in some tree. One that I took in Florida was in a palmetto forty feet 

 from the ground ; another in a dead pine scarcely fifteen feet up. These were 

 both found early in April, one containing four and the other five fresh eggs. 

 They were white and about an inch and three tenths long and nearly an inch 

 in their smaller diameter. 



The yellow-bellied Woodpecker is decidedly a woodland bird during the 



breeding season, but during its migrations, particularly in fall, many appear 



Yellow-bellied ^^ ^^^ orchards and trees about country hoifses. 



Woodpecker. The male is a distinguished bird, with the top of 



sphyrapicus varius (Linn.), head and his throat deep scarlet. The back is barred 



with yellowish white on a black ground. There is a large white area on 



YELLOW-BELLIED WOODPECKER. 



each shoulder and the feathers of the wings are much marked with white. 

 The general color of the tail is black, with white margins to the outer 

 feathers. The breast is clear shiny black. Back of this the under parts are 

 yellow, streaked with black and dusky on the sides. The adult female has a 

 wMe throat, sometimes a scarlet crown, though this region is frequently 

 clear black and again black with a mixture of scarlet feathers. Otherwise 

 she is like the adult male. Immature birds resemble the female, but are 

 duller colored generally and have brown or dusky brown on the top of the 



