212 
YERTEBEATA. 
Woodpecker, P. tridactylus or P. arcticus, 
is nine inches long, and iiiliabits the north 
of Europe, as well as ISTorth America, being- 
sometimes found as far south as Pennsylvania. 
Among the Asiatic species are the P. 
Shorii, P. sguamaMs, and P. occipitalis, all 
found in the Himalaya Mountains. The P. 
I Caffer is found in Southern Africa. 
There are about thirty species of wood- 
pecker known in the United States, which 
have been divided by naturalists into several 
genera. Dr. De Kay, however, includes them 
i| in one — ^that of Picus. The most commonly 
known is the Red-headed Woodpecker, P. 
^ erythrocephalus, Melanerpes er^jthroceplialus 
I of Linnseus, eight to nine inches long; head, 
neck, and throat crimson ; back, wings, and 
tail black ; secondaries, rump, and all beneath 
nearly white. It is chiefly a summer bird, 
though a few remain through the year; it 
feeds on juicy fruits, cherries, apples, pears, 
Indian corn in the milk, and insects which 
infest decayed trees. It naakes its nest in 
THE LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER. holcs lu dry trccs, which it excavates with its 
bill ; the eggs are about six, and white, with reddish spots at the end ; there are two broods in a 
EED-HEADED WOODPECKERS. 
season. This bird generally lives in the forests, but it often visits the orchards, and in cherry time 
