_Woodpeckers._――The _Red-headed Woodpecker_ is universally known from his striking and characteristic plumage, and the frequency of his depredations in the orchards and corn-fields. Towards the mountains, particularly in the vicinity of creeks and rivers, these birds are extremely abundant, especially in the latter part of the summer. Wherever you travel in the interior at that season, you hear them screaming from the adjoining woods, rattling on the dead limbs of trees, or on the fences, where they are perpetually seen flitting from stake to stake on the roadside before you. Wherever there are trees of the wild cherry, covered with ripe fruit, there you see them busy among the branches; and in passing orchards, you may easily know where to find the sweetest apples, by observing those trees on or near which this bird is skulking; for he is so excellent a connoisseur in fruit, that wherever an apple or pear is found broached by him, it is sure to be among the ripest and best flavored. When alarmed, he seizes a capital one by sticking his open bill deep into it, and bears it off to the woods. When the Indian corn is in its ripe, succulent, and milky state, he attacks it with great eagerness, opening a passage through the numerous folds of the husk, and feeding on it with voracity. The girdled or leadened timber, so common among the corn-fields in the back settlements, are his favorite retreats, whence he sallies out to make his depredations. He is fond of the ripe berries of the sour gum, and pays regular visits to the cherry trees, when loaded with fruit. Towards fall, he often approaches the barn or farm house, and raps on the shingles and weather-boards. He is of a gay and frolicsome disposition; and half a dozen of the fraternity are frequently seen diving and vociferating round the high dead limbs of some tree, pursuing and playing with each other, amusing the passenger with their gambols. Their note or cry is shrill and lively, and so much resembles that of a species of tree-frog, which frequents the same tree, that it is sometimes difficult to distinguish the one from the other. Illustration: Red-headed Woodpecker. The _Ivory-billed Woodpecker_ breeds in the Carolinas, and in strength and magnitude stands at the head of the tribe. He lives in the cypress swamps, seeking the tops of the most towering trees; his bill is like polished ivory, and his crest a superb carmine. His eye is brilliant and daring, and his manners are said to be dignified and noble. Among the other American birds of this tribe are the _Pileated_, _Yellow-bellied_, _Golden-winged_, and _Red-bellied Woodpeckers_. _Nuthatch._――The _White-breasted Nuthatch_ is found almost every where in the woods of North America; his whole upper plumage is light-blue or lead, the under parts are white, and the crown of the head, black. Ants, seeds, insects, and larvæ, form his principal subsistence. There are two other species of this bird found in the United States.