Male with a scarlet crown and throat; female with a scarlet crown and white throat; young with the head and neck mottled gray and white, with a few scarlet feathers.
This species has gained some ill-repute because of its supposed habit of boring through the bark of trees in order to get at the sap, and thus killing the trees. However, I very much doubt if they do any appreciable damage in this manner. I have watched a great many of them in the spring and fall and have clearly seen that they were feeding upon insects in the same way as the [Downy].
Note.—A loud whining “whee,” and other harsh calls similar to the scream of a [Blue Jay].
Nest.—In holes in trees, at heights from the ground varying from eight to fifty feet. Late in May they lay from four to seven white eggs (.85 × .60).
Range.—U. S. east of the Rockies, breeding from Virginia and Missouri to Hudson Bay, and wintering in southern U. S.
PILEATED WOODPECKER
405. Phlœotomus pileatus. 17 inches
Male with a scarlet crown and crest, and a red moustache or mark extending back from the bill; female with scarlet crest but a blackish forehead and no moustache.
Next to the [Ivory-bills], these are the largest of our Woodpeckers. Like that species it is very destructive to trees in its search for food. While engaged in this pursuit, they often drill large holes several inches into sound wood to reach the object of their search. Like all the Woodpeckers, they delight in playing tattoos on dry, resonant limbs with their bills.