WOODPECKERS.
The claw of the woodpecker is constructed of two toes forward and two toes backward, which assist them in climbing the tree-trunks; their tail feathers are pointed and stiff and serve as a prop; the bill is adapted for chiseling out the homes of grubs, insects, etc., in the bark.
The Downy Woodpecker. Its upper parts are black, scarlet band on the neck, the middle of the back is white, while the wing feathers are specked with white. You can often see him in an orchard or in the trees on the lawn, picking out the grubs as he climbs the tree-trunks and branches.
The Sapsucker has a scarlet cap; its back is black and yellow, tail black; it feeds largely on tree juices.
Red-headed Woodpecker. Head, neck, throat and principal parts red; back black and white; nests generally in a dead tree.
The Flicker. The top of the head gray; red band across back of the neck; back brownish with black bars; they are frequently called "high-holes."
The Pigeons and Doves.
The passenger pigeon is now practically extinct. Captain Bendire, writing twenty years ago, says: "It looks now as if their total extermination might be accomplished within the present century. The only thing which retards their complete extinction is that it no longer pays to net these birds, they being too scarce for this now, at least in the more settled portions of the country, and also, perhaps, that from constant and unremitting prosecution on their breeding-grounds they have changed their habits somewhat, the majority no longer breeding in colonies, but scattering all over the country and breeding in isolated pairs." They used to be seen in enormous flocks, which, as they migrated, really hid the sun, destroyed forests miles wide, breaking down branches with their weight and wasting the crops far and wide. This bird moves with extraordinary speed and goes enormous distances. Many have been killed in New York State with their crops full of rice that they must have eaten in Georgia. That means that they flew three hundred miles in six hours. In 1813, Audubon says the air was literally filled with pigeons, and the midday sun darkened as in an eclipse, and the flocks flew over him in countless numbers for three whole days.
The Mourning Dove is similar to the Passenger Pigeon, but not as large.