448 
WOODPECKERS. 
vided pair. The eggs and young of this and many other birds 
occasionally fall a prey to the attacks of the common black 
snake. The young are easily tamed for a while, and when left 
at large come for some time regularly to be fed, uttering a cry 
to call attention. I have seen them feed on com-meal paste, 
a large piece of which the bird would carry off to a distance 
and eat at leisure. 
This species is common in Ontario and near Montreal, but is 
only an accidental visitor to other portions of eastern Canada. It 
is usually a rare bird to the eastward of the Hudson River, though 
in the fall of i88i it was quite common in parts of Connecticut and 
Massachusetts. 
The habit of this bird — in common with others of the family 
to store nuts and grain for winter use, briefly alluded to by Nuttall, 
has been confirmed frequently by recent observers. An interesting 
paper on this subject by O. P. Hay appeared in the “Auk ’’for 
July, 1887. 
RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER. 
Melanerpes carolinus. 
Char. Above, black and white in narrow bands ; tail black and 
white; beneath, pale buff; belly rosy red. Male, with crown and back 
of head scarlet, which in the female is replaced by dull ash. 
Nest. Usually in a secluded forest of tall trees ; a cavity cut in a dead 
trunk or limb. 
4-6; white and glossy; i.oo X 0.75. 
This species inhabits the whole North American continent, 
from the interior of Canada to Florida, and even the island of 
Jamaica, in all of which countries it probably rears its young, 
migrating only partially from the colder regions. This also,' 
like the preceding, is unknown in all the eastern parts of Mas- 
sachusetts, and probably New Hampshire. 
Ihe Red-bellied IVoodpecker dwells in the solitude of the 
forest ; amidst the tall and decayed trees only he seeks his less 
varied fare, and leads a life of roving wildness and independ- 
ence, congenial with his attachment to freedom and liberty. 
Sometimes, however, on the invasion of his native haunts by 
