| "ZEBRA
BIRD" is the name by which this handsome Woodpecker
will be recognized by many readers. Some regard it as the
most beautiful of the smaller species of its tribe. As
may be seen, the whole crown and nape are scarlet in the
male. In the female they are only partly so, but
sufficiently to make the identification easy. A bird
generally of retired habits, seeking the deepest and most
unfrequented forest to breed, it is nevertheless often
found in numbers in the vicinity of villages where there
are a few dead and partially decayed trees, in which they
drill their holes, high up on a limb, or in the bole of
the tree. When engaged in hammering for insects it
frequently utters a short, singular note, which Wilson
likens to the bark of a small dog. We could never liken
it to anything, it is so characteristic, and must be
heard to be appreciated. Chaw, chaw,
repeated twice, and with vigor, somewhat resembles the
hoarse utterance. Prof. D. E. Lantz states that this species in the vicinity of Manhattan, Kansas, exhibits the same familiarity as the Flicker, the Red-headed and Downy Woodpeckers. About a dozen nests were observed, the excavations ranging usually less than twenty feet from the ground. One nest in a burrow of a large dead limb of an elm tree was found May 12, and contained five eggs. The birds are very much attached to their nests. |
If the nest is
destroyed by man or beast, the birds almost immediately
begin excavating another nest cavity for the second set,
always in the vicinity of the first nest, often in the
same tree. In its search for food, the "Zebra Bird," regardless of the presence of man, climbs in its usual spiral or zig-zag manner the trees and their branches "boldly uttering now than then its familiar chaw, chaw, darting off occasionally to catch a passing insect upon the wing. Its flight is undulating, and its habits in many respects are like those of the Red-headed, but it is not so much of an upland bird, or lover of berries and fruits, and therefore more respected by the farmer. In contest with the Red-head it is said to be invariably vanquished. The North American family of Woodpeckers -- consisting of about twenty-five species -- is likely to be brought together in BIRDS for the first time. We have already presented several species, and will figure others as we may secure the finest specimens. Occasionally a foreign Woodpecker will appear. About three hundred and fifty species are known, and they are found in all the wooded parts of the world except Australia and Madagascar. |