Birds of The Palisades Interstate Park 
59 
together with its noisy calls, its showy colors, and its familiar 
habits. The golden yellow color of the under side of the wings 
and tail, and the white rump patch which shows prominently in 
flight, render this woodpecker unmistakable. It frequents the 
broken woods of the locality, spending much of its time on the 
ground, where it searches for ants, a favorite part of its varied diet. 
49. Downy Woodpecker. Dryobates pubescens medianus 
(Swains.) 
The Downy Woodpecker is a regular resident of the Park region, 
and fairly common around Bear Mountain. It is unmistakable as 
a woodpecker, but in appearance it resembles the Hairy Wood- 
pecker, though the latter is noticeably larger. The Downy gener- 
ally announces its presence near the observer by a sharp call-note 
“ pleek ”, uttered when it arrives at a selected foraging station, 
commonly in the lower portion of a tree or in the upper strata of 
the shrubbery and saplings. 
50. IIairy Woodpecker. Dryobates villosus villosus (Linn.) 
The Hairy Woodpecker is observed regularly in the Bear Moun- 
tain locality, though it is not so common as the Downy. In color- 
ation the Hairy resembles the Downy, its call-note is similar but 
louder and more forcible, and its actions and movements are much 
like those of its smaller relative. It frequents the same localities 
as the Downy, but in general it seeks a higher range of vegetation 
for its activities, and surroundings with more of the wildwood 
aspect. 
51. Belted Kingfisher. Ceryle alcyon (Linn.) 
The Kingfisher is common in the Bear Mountain locality, where 
it frequents the river banks, lake shores, and stream sides. It is 
noticeable on account of its large size, its harsh calls, and the con- 
spicuous crest. Its upper parts are grayish blue ; its lower parts 
are whitish, with a bluish gray band across the breast. The female 
has chestnut on breast and sides instead of the bluish gray of the 
male. The Kingfisher may be seen perched on some bare vantage- 
point along the water margin, from which it sallies out over the 
