22 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



in October. It is common for one, or two, rarely more, to pass to- 

 gether; but such occurrences have happened, as on October 24, 1934, 

 when, beginning soon after noon and lasting until four o'clock, the 

 birds continued to pass through. At least 12 were seen as I walked 

 up a roadway parallel to their course ; and other moving birds were 

 heard. It was also noticed that they kept spaced 40 to 50 yards 

 apart, keeping abreast of one another, traversing in a leisurely man- 

 ner; and as they approached a rock maple woods, the tendency was 

 to close in like passing through the neck of a bottle and, once through 

 the woods, again to spread out. Their progress was rather fast ; and 

 they fed little, if at all. They often called, as though to locate each 

 other, since they were keeping about 40 yards apart, as was easily 

 noted when they crossed pasture and mowing land. 



"I followed and watched in particular a male that continued 

 keeping along ahead of me. He repeatedly crossed the road in a 

 zigzag manner. Climbing to the top of a fence post or stump, he 

 made lengthy observations, probably noting the progress of the 

 other birds, and often answered their ringing calls. He, as well as 

 the others, gave the appearance of a stranger in a new environment, 

 truly a migrant. I noted how low the birds were passing, quite 

 frequently flying not over 2 feet from the ground over open spaces, 

 where long, bounding flights were made." 



L. McI. Terrill told Mr. Forbush (1927) that the few local breed- 

 ing birds disappear from the vicinity of Montreal early in autumn, 

 and others, in a very noticeable wave, appear toward the end of 

 October or early in November. 



Winter. — Aside from the regular migratory movements, the hairy 

 woodpecker is much more given to wandering about in winter. It is 

 apt to forsake its woodland haunts and travel about in search of 

 food, coming frequently into the farmer's orchard, into rural villages, 

 and even into thickly settled communities in some of our larger 

 cities. Here it often joins the merry parties at our winter feeding 

 stations, feeding readily on the suet or scraps of meat provided for 

 our insect-eating birds ; and here the smaller birds show due respect 

 for its larger size, or perhaps for its formidable beak, and it is 

 usually allowed to eat alone. It seems to be a solitary bird at this 

 season, for we seldom see more than one at a time. I find it not so 

 constant and regular a visitor to my feeding station as the downy 

 woodpecker and some other birds; it probably wanders about more. 



Mr. Forbush (1927) writes: "During the inclement season it is said 

 to require a sheltered place in which to sleep and, like the downy 

 woodpecker, to excavate a hole in a tree for a sleeping chamber, but 

 there is evidence that it does not always seek such shelter, as the 

 late Charles E. Bailey and myself watched one for several winter 



