ggOldae of Michigan 
Stewart b, "Waite 
7. Red-lieaded Woodpecker (Melanerpes 
erythrophthalmus). Although by no means 
our commonest, these are our^ most con- 
spicuous representatives of this class. Arriv- 
ing sometimes as early as the last of February j 
j these birds do not attain the maximum of their 
numbers until the last of April or the first of 
May. This is our most familiar summer i 
species inasmuch as it is to be found in the - 
city as well as in the country, and along the 
roads as well as in the woods. 
These Woodpeckers levy on all classes of 
food. Besides the insects and larvae, in the 
obtaining of which they are as industrious as 
any of the family; they are also fond of small 
fruit and the milky kernels of the Indian corn. 
In cherry time they become as expert as ! 
Robins in seizing the ripe fruit from the slender j 
twigs; when the plums, grapes and choke- 
cherries are in good condition they are on 
hand ; while late in the fall and early in the 
spring, frozen apples are first rate to fall back 
on. They are connoisseurs too; wherever I 
found a Red-lieaded Woodpecker, there was I 
sure of the sweetest and best flavored cherries. 
When one is surprised in these depredations 
his presence of mind never deserts him; with 
one savage stab he impales the best within 
reach and retreats, prevented from giving vent 
to his triumph only by the position of his 
prey. When the maize is just on the point ; 
of maturing they may be seen perched side- j 
ways on the most succulent ears tearing off the 
husks and devouring the sweet kernels. They 
prepare vast hoards of acorns in abandoned 
holes, simply for amusement it seems, for 
apparently no use is made of the provisions so 
carefully laid away. 
Their cry is rattling and quite loud but not 
as much so as those of some, others. These 
birds are fond of selecting' a place of great 
resonating power and hammering away to j 
their hearts’ content, and therefore are often 
seen perched on the sides of telegraph poles, 
houses and fence posts. 
For some reason they are especial objects of 
fury to the Robin, and it is by no means an 
unusual sight to see one hotly pursued by a 
pair of the latter birds. It is very amusing to 
see the ease and dexterity with which ho 
avoids their rushes, dodging around a fence 
post just in the nick of time, escaping to the 
next when too closely pursued, and finally 1 
plumping into a hole, leaving the mystified 
liSbins to speculate on his disappearance. 
They are always on hand for a frolic and in 
companies of six or eight will play by the j 
hour. Often when in pursuit of insects they 
progress along the tops of large horizontal 
limbs by a series of hops, but although they j 
often alight on the ground for the purpose of 
picking up choice morsels, yet I have never 
seen them searching there as do the Flickers. 
In September old and young gather together 
in a large flock, and by the first of October the ; 
bulk have gone south. 
$&0,XVI. April. 1801. p. 6 %- 
An Unrecorded Habit of the Red- 
Headed Woodpecker. 
Several years ago my attention was 
called by a farmer to a singular habit 
which the Red-lieaded Woodpeckers in his 
neighborhood had of robbing the nests of 
Cliff Swallows. Since then I have collect- 
ed numerous instances of the kind. 
The following incident I believe to be 
true : Under the eaves of a large barn 
near Mt. Sterling, O., a colony of Cliff 
Swallows have built for some years. Last 
year they were nearly exterminated by 
several Woodpeckers. The Red-heads 
would alight at the doors of the mud 
huts and extract the eggs from the nests 
with their bills. In some nests the necks 
or entrance-ways were so long that the 
Woodpeckers could not reach the eggs by 
this means, but not willing to be cheated 
of such choice food they would climb 
around to the side, and with a few well di- 
rected blows of their bills make openings 
large enough to enable them to procure 
the eggs. Of the dozens of nests built 
not ' a single brood was reared in any. 
One Woodpecker bolder than the rest be- 
gan eating hen’s eggs wherever they could 
be found. One morning the lady of the 
house saw a woodpecker go into a barrel 
in which she had a sitting of selected 
hen’s eggs. Suspecting his purpose she 
hastened out and found that he had al- 
ready broken one egg. The hen was off 
feeding. Presently the hen returned. 
Thinking all now safe the lady was about 
to enter the house when a Woodpecker 
alighted upon the barrel, and hopping 
around the top, soon entered. The lady 
hastened to the barrel and threw her apron 
over the top and captured the thief. 
Prom my own observations and those of 
others, the Red-headed Woodpecker, (M. 
erythrocephalus ,) must be placed among 
the egg-sucking birds . — Howard .Tones, 
Gircleville, Ohio. O.&O, Vlll. July. 1883. p. ifc 
Red-headed Woodpecker eating Grasshoppers. — Much has been 
said in relation to the change in the habits of the Red-headed Woodpecker, 
and the fact that he has been compelled, by the intrusion of other birds, 
to such ordinary insects, instead of those which inhabit the outside and 
inside of trees, has been noted by many observers. During the summer 
of 1877 I saw one on the prairie, half a mile from the timber, very intently 
bent upon catching grasshoppers ( Caloptenus spretus). The bird made a 
fence-post his point of departure and return, flying off a few rods and 
capturing his game, and then alighting on the post to devour it more at 
leisure. These birds are apparently much less numerous in this region 
than they were ten or twelve years ago. — Charles Aldrich, Webster , 
City, Iowa. ( Communicated by E. C.) Blll-1. N.O.Q. 3,Oct.> 1878, p. /™ 
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