IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER 7 



male, and though one-third grown had not yet opened its eyes. Thpi 

 feathers of the first plumage were apparent, beginning to cover the 

 down, and were the same in coloration as those of the adult female 

 bird." -v^.-, 



During April 1937, James Tanner, recipient of the Audubon fel- 

 loY^ship at Cornell University for the study of the ivory-billed wood- 

 pecker (MS.), was able to follow a young ivorybill for over 3 months 

 after it left the nest, and though he never had the bird in his hands, 

 his description is much more complete than Scott's and the most ac- 

 curate one available : "March 10, 1937 : The young ivory-billed wood- 

 pecker just out of the nest resembled an adult female in general 

 pattern but with the following differences : The black crest was short 

 and blunt; the tail was short and square; the outer primaries were 

 all tipped with white, instead of being wholly black as in the adult ; 

 the bill was shorter than that of an adult and was chalky white in- 

 stead of ivory ; the eye was a dark brown or sepia. One month later 

 the crest was long but still blunt and black, the tail was almost as 

 long and pointed as an adult's, and the eye and bill were beginning 

 to turn color. 



"The bird developed gradually from then, until at three and a 

 half months out of the nest (July 14, 1937) its size, proportions, bill, 

 and eye color were the same as those of an adult. By then, scarlet 

 feathers had appeared in the back of the crest. The white wing tips 

 to the outer primaries were almost worn away." 



Since Tanner's bird began to show red in the crest when it was 

 three and a half months old, it is probable that the postjuvenal molt 

 is completed by early fall and that thereafter young and adults are 

 similar. 



The cliief difference between adult male and female ivorybills lies 

 in the crest, which in the male is a brilliant scarlet, not including the 

 uppermost feathers, which are black, like the top of the head, while 

 the somewhat recurved crest of the female is entirely black. Females 

 average somewhat larger than males in most of their measurements, 

 except those of bill and feet, as the following figures (length in milli- 

 meters) given by Ridgway (1914) for 15 males and 11 females in- 

 dicate : 



Adult males: Skins, 420-493 (454); wing, 240-263 (255.8); tail, 147-160.5 



(154.4) ; culmen, 63-72.5 (68.2) ; tarsus, 42.5-46 (44.2) ; outer anterior toe, 80- 

 34 (32.1). 



ADtTLT females: Skins, 452-488 (471) ; wing, 240-262 (256.4); tail, 151-166 



(159.5) ; culmen, 61-67.5 (64.3) ; tarsus, 40.5-44 (42.6) ; outer anterior toe, 

 30-33.5 (31.7). 



In both sexes the general color is a glossy blue-black, with the tail 

 and primaries duller or with the gloss less distinct. A narrow stripe 

 on each side of the neck, starting below the eye and continuing down 



