16 BULLETIN 17 4, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



often quite glossy. The color is pure white, but in fresh eggs the 

 yolk shows through the translucent shell, giving the egg a beautiful 

 orange-pink color. The measurements of 47 eggs average 23.81 by 

 18.04 millimeters; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 

 29.50 by 18.80, 28.70 by 18.90, and 20.57 by 16.26 millimeters. 



Young. — Only one brood is raised in a season, but, if the nest is 

 robbed, the female will lay a second set after an interval of 12 or 14 

 days, and sometimes even a third set; often subsequent layings may 

 be in the same nest hole. 



Bendire (1895) says: 



The duties of incubation are divided between tbe sexes and last about two 

 weeks. The young when first hatched are repulsive-looking creatures, blind 

 and naked, with enormously large heads, and ugly protuberances at the base of 

 the bill, resembling a reptile more than a bird. They are totally helpless for 

 some days, and can not stand ; but they soon learn to climb. They are fed by 

 the parents by regurgitation of their food, which is the usual way in which 

 the young of most Woodpeckers are fed when first hatched. * * * The 

 young remain in the nest about three weeks. When disturbed they utter a low, 

 purring noise, which reminds me somewhat of that made by bees when swarm- 

 ing, and when a little older they utter a soft "puirr, puirr." Even after leaving 

 the nest they are assiduously cared for by both parents for several weeks, until 

 able to provide for themselves. 



Plumages. — The young hairy, like all other young woodpeckers, 

 is hatched naked, and the juvenal plumage is assumed while in the 

 nest, so that when the young birds emerge they are fully fledged. 

 In the juvenal plumage the sexes are sometimes much alike, though 

 oftener there is a decided difference. In both sexes the bill is de- 

 cidedly smaller, weaker, and more pointed than in the adult; the 

 color pattern is almost exactly like that of the adult, but the plumage 

 is softer and fluffier ; the white markings are more or less tinged with 

 yellowish, the two inner primaries are dwarfed, and the innermost 

 white tail feather is usually tipped with black. The colored mark- 

 ings in the crowns of both sexes are very variable in color and in 

 extent. L. L. Snyder (1923) has made a careful study of the crown 

 markings of young hairy and downy woodpeckers of both sexes. 

 He found that 90 percent of the young male hairies had more or less 

 red, pinkish, or yellowish markings in the crowns, and only about 

 14 percent of the young females were so marked. But only 10 percent 

 of the young males and about 43 percent of the young females had 

 white markings only on a black crown ; and about 43 percent of the 

 young females had the entire crown black. There is great individual 

 variation in the amount and in the distribution of these colors; the 

 white spots are often mixed with the other colors; the reddish and 

 yellowish colors may invade nearly the whole crown, exist in one or 

 two large patches, or appear on only a few scattered feathers. 



