This noble bird appears to be a gene ral inhabitant of North America, at least as far north as Canada ; his residence be ing in the interior of large forests, he is rarely seen near our large towns on the sea board, around which the forests have been felled or much thinned; makes a loud cackling noise before rain, and then seems to fly about with unusual impati ence and restlessness.
P. auratus. Golden winged Wood pecker, Flicker, High-hole, tlittock, &c. is a very common and beautiful species, found in almost all parts of the United States, and ranges very far to the north ; he is partially migratory, but may be found in our markets every month in the year. Colour of the back and wings above dark umber, marked regularly and transversely with- streaks of black ; cheeks, chin and neck, cinnamon colour ; head above, and superior part of the neck, iron grey, hind head marked with a sanguineons Innate spot, the angles point ing towards the eyes, an abbreviated stripe on each side of the throat arising near the base of the lower jaw, and a large deep black lunule on the breast, belly and vent white, a little yellowish, and marked with very numerous round ed spots of black ; shafts of the feathers golden yellow ; rump and tail coverts white, the latter curiously serrated with black ; tail beneath yellow, tip and all above black. The female is destitute of the abbreviated stripes of the throat: length twelve inches, extent twenty inch es. They build their nest in the hollow of an old tree, which they have been in strumental in forming. The female lays six white nearly transparent eggs in April. Their food is not confined to the larvm of insects, but they delight in seve ral kinds of fruits, as cherries, gumber ries, grapes, and, perhaps, sometimes a little Indian corn when in its milky or un ripe state, but the food on which his prin cipal reliance seems to be placed is the Wood louse (Oniscus. Lin.) and the pu pa and young of ants, &c.
P. erythrocephalus, or Red-headed Wood-pecker, is one of the most com mon of our birds, and is well known by his appearance to almost every individual in the United States, or even in North America, from the conspicuous colours with which he is decorated, as well as by his constant recurrence, wherever there are old trees to attract his attention, for the larvx'of insects they contain, and also from his peculiar note and the laud noise made by the strokes of his beak against the wood, succeeding each other with al most incredible rapidity of succession.
Length nine inches and a half, extent se venteeen inches. Head and neck deep scarlet ; back, primaries, wing coverts and tail black, with steel blue reflections, rump, secondary feathers, lower parts of the back, breast, abdomen and vent white. The young bird does not receive his full and perfect plumage until the succeeding spring, his head and neck are blackish grey. They form their nest in some old tree, of which the wood is not so hard as to oppose any great obstacle to their labours ; though it must be confess ed that they sometimes dig out wood of a considerable degree of firmness. The female deposits six white eggs, and the Young appear about the middle of June. His food is Indian corn, fruit, 84.c. but principally the larva of insects ; these he discovers by some means, unknown to us, under the bark of decaying trees, and ar rives at them by perforating it with his bill; it is probabable that, in his search for this favourite food,, he is guided by his acute hearing, directed to catch the sound of the gnawing hidden worm. In Pennsylvania they migrate to the south ward in October, and return in May.
P. Villosus. Hairy Woodpecker of Ca tesby, is a very common bird in Pennsyl vania, and is one of the several species familiarly known to almost every body under the name of Sap-Sucker, derived probably from a notion, that their con.
start labour in perforating trees is for the purpose of supplying themselves with the sap of the tree as Mod ; but it is well known to every naturalist, that their object is exclusively the acquisition of the larva of insects, by destroying which they render essential service to man.— This bird is in length about nine inches, and in extent fifteen ; head white, crown and broad line, which includes the eyes, and descends on the hind neck to the back, black ; hind head with a large scar let spot ; a line of black spots, from near the base of the lower jaw, terminates in a broad black stripe on the shoulder ; back black, divided by a broad lateral stripe of white, of which the feathers are loose, resembling hairs, not being webb ed ; wings, black spotted with white ; the four middle tail feathers black, the others whitish ; all beneath pure nostrils concealed by very numerous hairs. The female is destitute of the scarlet spot on the hind head.