THE PILEATED WOODPECKER. 505 



an astonishing manner. Very useful, indeed, must this bird 

 be in preserving our primeval forests from the ravages of 

 insects. Whether one notes his strong, undulating flight, 

 his elastic bounding and springing along the trunks of the 

 trees, the effective chiseling of his powerful bill, or his sono- 

 rous cackling, one is particularly impressed with the spirit 

 and immense energy of the bird. 



The natural habitat of the Pileated Woodpecker is the 

 wooded regions of all North America, but in the slightly 

 wooded prairie regions, it is but rare or casual; and in the 

 more cultivated parts, it disappears, like the North American 

 Indian, before the onward move of civilization. In Western 

 New York, where it was once abundant, it is now of but 

 rare occurrence. Its eggs were taken, however, about a 

 year ago (1882), in a wooded tract near the large park of 

 the city of Buffalo. About 1.25 X 1.00, they are small for 

 the size of the bird. The species is very shy and wary, 

 keeping for the most part to the tall tree-tops, and making 

 off on the slightest disturbance or alarm. 



Just here, association of ideas brings forward a species 

 closely allied to the above, the Ivory-billed Woodpecker 

 {Campcphilus principalis). Inhabiting the South Atlantic and 

 Gulf States, its huge form, bright colors, loud notes, and 

 the immense piles of bark-chips that mark the sites of his 

 work, in search of insects in dead and decaying trees, are 

 the constant accompaniments of the great pine forests of 

 that region. Some 21 inches long, it is even larger than 

 the above species; and its white ivory-colored bill, white 

 secondaries, scapulars, forehead, lines down the back, and 

 spots in the primaries, as well as the deeper and more 

 glossy black of the body generally — differentiate it clearly 

 in color. Its clear white eggs are very large, " as large as 

 a pullet's, and equally thick at both ends." 



