572 
ZYGODACTYLI. 
RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER. 
( Picus carolinus , L. Wilson, 1. p. 113. pi. 7. fig. 2. [male.] Phil. 
Museum. No. 1944.) 
Sp. Charact. — Barred with black and white; head and neck 
above red-lead color ; cheeks and parts beneath pale yellowish- 
buff ; the belly tinged with red. — Female and Young with the 
fore part of the head without red. 
This species inhabits the whole North-American con- 
tinent, from the interior of Canada to Florida, and even 
the island of Jamaica, in all of which countries it proba- 
bly rears its young, migrating only partially from the 
colder regions. This also, like the preceding, is un- 
known in all the eastern parts of Massachusetts and 
probably New Hampshire. 
The Red-Bellied Woodpecker, 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 independence, congenial with his attach- 
ment to freedom and liberty. Sometimes, however, on 
the invasion of his native haunts by the progress of 
agriculture, he maybe seen prowling among the dead 
and girdled trees which now afford him an augmented 
source of support ; and, as a chief of the soil, he some- 
times claims his native rights by collecting a small tythe 
from the usurping field of maize. His loud and harsh 
call of ’ tshow ’tslioiv 5 tshow ’ tshow , reiterated like the 
barking of a cur, may often be heard, through the course 
of the day, to break the silence of the wilderness in 
which his congenial tribe are almost the only residents. 
On a fine spring morning, I have observed his desultory 
ascent up some dead and lofty pine, tapping at intervals, 
and dodging from side to side, as he ascended in a 
spiral line ; at length, having gained the towering 
summit, while basking in the mild sunbeams, he sur- 
