172 
The Red-headed Woodpecker 
it and then rapping it vigorously against a branch before venturing to 
swallow it. 
I followed the youngster, rousing a Robin that made such an outcry 
that one of the old Redheads flew over in alarm. “Kik-a-rik, kik-a-rik / 
it cried as it hurried from tree to tree, trying to keep an eye on me while 
looking for the youngster. Neither of us could find it for some time, but 
after looking in vain over the west side of a big tree I rounded the trunk 
and found it calmly sitting on a branch on the east side — which goes to 
prove that it is never safe to say a woodpecker isn’t on a tree, till you 
have seen both sides ! 
The old Redhead found the lost fledgling about the time that I did, 
and flew over to it with what looked like a big grub. At the delectable 
sight, the youngster dropped all its airs of independence, and with weak 
infantile cries turned and opened wide its bill ! 
Two days later I found two birds that may have been father and 
son, on the side of a flagpole, out in the big world together. The old 
bird's head glowed crimson in the strong sunlight, and it was fortunate 
indeed that only friends were by. 
The striking tricolor makes the Redheads so good targets that they 
are in especial danger from human enemies and need 
loyal, valiant defenders wherever they live. And 
what a privilege it is to have birds of such interesting 
habits and beautiful plumage in your neighborhood ! How the long 
country roads are enlivened, how the green fields are lit up, as one of the 
brilliant birds rises from a fence-post and flies over them ! In the city, 
it is rare good luck, indeed, to have a pair nest in an oak where you can 
watch them ; and even a passing glimpse or an occasional visit is some- 
thing to be thankful for. 
“There’s the Redhead !” you exclaim exultantly, when a loud tattoo 
beats on your roof in spring. And “There’s the Redhead !” you cry 
with delight, as a soft kikarik comes from a leafless oak you are passing 
in winter ; and the city street, so dull and uninteresting before, is suddenly 
illumined by the sight. 
Delightful 
Visitors 
Classification and Distribution 
The Red-headed Woodpecker belongs to the Order Pici and Family Picidtz. 
Its scientific name is Melanerpes erythrocephalus. It inhabits the southern border 
of Canada and all the United Stales east of the Rocky Mountains, but is now 
rare east of the Allegheny Mountains and upon the southwestern plains, and is 
migratory only on the cold northern border of its range. 
This and other Educational Leaflets are for sale, at 5 cents each, by the National Association of 
Audubon Societies, 1974 Broadway, New York City. Lists given on request. 
