THE GOLD-WINGED WOODPECKER. 
419 
Every one who has had practical experience of this bird agrees that it is very mischievous 
in a garden ; and even Wilson, whose kind heart would hardly permit him to see that any 
feathered creature could be hurtful to man, is forced to admit that its robberies are very 
extensive, but ought to be conceded as a tribute of thankfulness to the bird for eating so many 
grubs. “ Wherever there is a tree or trees of the wild cherry,” writes Wilson, “ covered with 
ripe fruit, there you see them busy among the branches, and in passing orchards you may 
easily know where to find the earliest and sweetest apples, by observing those trees on or near 
which the Red-headed Woodpecker is skulking. For he is so excellent a connoisseur in fruit, 
that wherever an apple or pear tree is found broached by him, it is sure to be among the ripest 
and best-flavored ; when alarmed, he seizes a capital one by striking his open bill deep into it, 
and bears it off to the woods. 
“When the Indian corn is in its rich, succulent, milky state, he attacks it with great 
eagerness, opening a passage through the numerous folds of the husks, and feeding on it with 
voracity. The girdled or deadened timber, so common among corn-fields in the back settle- 
ments, are his favorite retreats, whence he sallies out to make his depredations. He is fond 
of the ripe berries of the sour gum, and pays pretty regular visits to the cherry-trees when 
loaded with fruit. Towards fall he often approaches the barn or farm-house, and raps on the 
shingles and weather-boards. He is of a gay and frolicsome disposition, and half a dozen of 
the fraternity are frequently seen diving and vociferating around the high dead limbs of some 
large tree, pursuing and playing with each other, and amusing the passenger with their gambols. 
“Their note or cry is shrill and lively, and so much resembles that of a species of tree- 
frog which inhabits the same tree that it is sometimes difficult to distinguish the one from the 
other.” 
On account of the garden -robbing propensities of this bird, it is held in much odium, and 
trapped whenever occasion offers itself. In some places the feeling against it was so strong, 
that a reward was offered for its destruction. It is probable, however, that the services which 
it renders by the destruction of noxious insects may more than compensate for its autumnal 
ravages in the fields and orchards. 
Unlike the previous species, which is a permanent inhabitant, the Red-headed Woodpecker 
is a bird of passage, appearing in Pennsylvania about the beginning of May, and leaving that 
country towards the end of October. The eggs of this bird are pure white, speckled with 
reddish-brown, mostly towards the larger end, and generally six in number. 
The adult male is a really beautiful bird, its plumage glowing with steely-black, snowy- 
white, and brilliant scarlet, disposed as follows : The head and neck are deep scarlet, and the 
upper parts of the body are black, with a steel-blue gloss. The upper tail-coverts, the second- 
aries, the breast and abdomen, are pure white. The beak is light blue, deepening into black 
towards the tip ; the legs and feet are blue-green, the claws blue, and round the eye there is a 
patch of bare skin of a dusky color. The female is colored like her mate, except that her 
tints are not so brilliant. The young of the first year have the head and neck blackish gray, 
and the white on the wings is variegated with black. The total length of the bird is between 
nine and ten inches. 
The Ground Woodpeckers are represented by the Gold-winged Woodpeckee of 
America. 
This bird may lay claim to the title of the feathered ant-eater, for it feeds very largely on 
those insects, and has its beak shaped in a somewhat pickaxe-like form, in order to enable it 
to dig up their nests from the ground and the decaying stumps of trees. In the stomach of 
one of these birds Wilson found a mass of ants nearly as large as a plum. It also feeds much 
on woodlice, those destructive creatures which eat the bitterest and the toughest substances 
with the best of appetites, and have been known to render a boat unsafe for sea, in spite of the 
strong flavor of salt water, pitch, and tar, with which seafaring boats are so liberally imbued. 
It is a brisk, lively, and playful creature, skipping about the trunks of trees with great 
activity, and ‘ £ hopping not only upwards and downwards, but spirally, pursuing and playing 
with its fellow in this manner round the body of the tree.” I may here mention that I never 
