280 
PICIFORMES 
405. Pileated Woodpecker, cock-of-the-woods. logcock. ( Incorrectly , Wood- 
cock.) le grand pic. Coephloeus pileatus. L, 17. Plate XXXYIII A. A very large 
woodpecker, coloured in broad masses of black and white and with a conspicuous, pointed, 
brilliant red crest. 
Distinctions. By far the largest woodpecker in Canada, it can be confused with no 
other Canadian species. 
Field Marks. A woodpecker almost as large as a crow, with striking, pointed, red 
crest, and loud, characteristic cries. 
Nesting. In holes excavated in dead trees and stubs. 
Distribution. The northern forests across the continent, south along the mountains. 
SUBSPECIES. Four subspecies of the Pileated Woodpecker (le Grand Pic du 
Nord) are recognized in the Check-list, two of which are accredited to Canada. The 
Northern Pileated Woodpecker Coephloeus pileaius abieticola is the form of eastern Canada, 
extending west. The Western Pileated Woodpecker (le Grand Pic de l’Ouest) Coephloeus 
pileatus picinus is accredited to the west coast mountains, and probably farther east. 
It is described as being slightly smaller and darker (browner), with the whites restricted. 
These distinctions are very slight, however, and are average rather than individual. 
In the east, on account of the wanton destruction, this once much 
more widely distributed bird is to be found only in the quiet of the more 
northern woods. Even there, visitors and deer hunters could not resist 
the temptation of taking so spectacular a trophy home with them, and it 
was being rapidly reduced in number until the provisions of the Migratory 
Birds Convention Act extended practical protection over it. In the west, 
things have not gone so far, and, especially in the mountain and coast 
districts, it may still be seen in close proximity to civilization. It is a bird 
typical of the deep woods. It visits the rotten logs in the damp, shadowy 
undergrowth, and, with its powerful bill, tears and scatters them about 
in fragments for the grubs contained. These habits are the origin of the 
common vernacular names, Cock-of-the-Woods and Logcock, which have 
often been corrupted into Woodcock, a name already applied to an entirely 
different bird, and the source of much confusion and misunderstanding. 
Its principal value is that of a forest conserver, and it should be protected 
for economic as well as esthetic reasons. 
409. Red -bellied Woodpecker, le pic A ventre roux. 
Centurus carolinus. L, 9-50, Entire hack and upperparts 
sharply and regularly barred with black and white. \\ hole 
back of neck to shoulder and, in the male, the top of head, 
bright red. All remainder and below ashy white with slight 
olive tinge. Abdomen slightly tinged with red. 
Distinctions. The even barring of the whole back and the 
red colour of the crown and rear neck are easily distinguished 
(Figure 392). 
Distribution. From the gulf coast to northern United 
States, occurring as a straggler to the north of the boundary 
in southern Ontario. 
Figure 392 
Red-bellied Woodpecker; 
scale, |. 
Male 
This woodpecker is of rare and local occurrence in Canada. Its 
economic status is good, although it is fond of wild fruit and occasionally 
turns its attention to cultivated varieties. 
406. Red-headed Woodpecker, le pic A t£te rouge. Melanerpes enjlhrocephalus. 
L, 9-75. Plate XXXVIII B. Solidly black above, with secondaries and rum]) pure white; 
head, neck all around, and upper breast bright crimson-red; below white. The juvenile 
has the red of head and neck replaced by dusky ash .and the blacks and whites edged and 
obscured with the same. 
Distinctions. The solid red head and the conspicuous black and white in large, un- 
broken masses, can be mistaken for no other species. 
