Red Headed Woodpecker Fine Art Bird Print by John James Audubon

An archival premium quality art print of the Red Headed Woodpecker by John James Audubon for sale by Brandywine General Store. Mr. Audubon shows a busy family of the red headed woodpeckers in this drawing that he completed for his great ornithology book, The Birds of America. This print was plate or picture number 27 in the first Havell edition of said book. A family of red headed woodpeckers is shown in this illustration in and around a hollow tree stump, the male is bringing a grub for one of the young, the female is flying in with a cherry in her mouth for another young, while a third baby bird is peeking out of a hole in the tree stump, wondering where his meal is. Audubon describes the red-headed woodpecker thus "You have now, kind reader, under consideration a species of Woodpecker, the general habits of which are so well known in our United States, that, were I assured of your having traversed the woods of America, I should feel disposed to say little about them. With the exception of the Mocking-bird, I know no species so gay and frolicksome. Indeed, their whole life is one of pleasure. They find a superabundance of food everywhere, as well as the best facilities for raising their broods. He alights on the roof of the house, hops along it, beats the shingles, utters a cry, and dives into your garden to pick the finest strawberries which he can discover. I would not recommend to any one to trust their fruit to the Red-heads; for they not only feed on all kinds as they ripen, but destroy an immense quantity besides. No sooner are the cherries seen to redden, than these birds attack them. They arrive on all sides, coming from a distance of miles, and seem the while to care little about the satisfaction you might feel in eating some also. Trees of this kind are stripped clean by them. When one has alighted and tasted the first cherry, he utters his call-note, jerks his tail, nods his head, and at it again in an instant. When fatigued, he loads his bill with one or two, and away to his nest, to supply his young..." Audubon Birds art print #27