NORTHERN PILEATED WOODPECKER 177 



invariably, faces the east or the south. Such is the preferred position, 

 but, as may be supposed, the slope of the surface of the tree trunk 

 and the quality of the wood are factors in the choice ; and holes some- 

 times are found drilled in west and north faces of the trunks. The 

 hole may be drilled through bark; more frequently it is through the 

 bleached and bonelike surface of a stub from which the bark has long 

 been stripped away. Though sometimes quite circular, the hole tends 

 to be of triangular outline, peaked above and leveled below. The 

 lower margin of the hole is outwardly and downwardly beveled and 

 very nicely finished. The orifice varies from 31^4 to 4I/2 inches in 

 diameter, and typically may be 3i/4 inches in width and 3% in ver- 

 tical extent. The only other notable item in external appearance is 

 that, if the tree be bare of bark and smooth surfaced (as is usual), 

 an area of surface a few inches below the hole will be seen to have 

 become polished by the rubbing of the tail feathers of the parent birds. 

 And this spot, perhaps in consequence of difference in the absorption 

 of moisture and fungus growth, may persist and be still plainly dis- 

 cernible in later years. 



A nesting tree that may be regarded as typical stood in a dense 

 forest, entirely of hardwood — maples, elms, and yellow birches — on 

 the plain of a high and ancient beach of Lake Superior, cut through 

 by a mountain stream, and about a hundred yards from the water. It 

 was the smooth and barkless stub of a dead elm, about 45 feet high 

 and having a girth, breast-high, of 76 inches. The bole was smooth 

 and white, and the wood was still firm. The stub stood well shaded 

 beneath the living trees. A few flecks of morning sunlight fell upon 

 its eastern face ; but throughout the greater part of the day it remained 

 in shadow. It had been the woodpeckers' nesting place certainly for 

 four years. The highest hole seemed to be the oldest — in the south 

 face and near the top. The uppermost 6 feet of the stub had since 

 become weathered and checked and manifestly unsuitable. Next, on 

 the north face, there was an old and black-looking hole about 36 feet 

 up. The third and lowest hole was in the east face and about 25 feet 

 up ; and, lastly, there was the hole of the year, 34 feet up and also in 

 the east face. 



The chamber within is capacious and is ordinarily of conical form, 

 tapering slightly from a low domed roof downward to a bowllike 

 bottom. There may be a slight bulging of the walls below a nar- 

 rowed median portion. The depth may vary from 10 to 24 inches 

 (extreme figures of 6 and 26 have been recorded). The average of 

 15 measurements is 19 inches. The entrance hole leads to the upper 

 widest portion, and there the chamber is 7 or 8 inches across. The 

 distance from the outer surface of the bole of the tree to the remote 

 wall of the chamber is about 11 inches. The entrance passageway 

 about 2 inches inward is ridged across, and from this median ridge 



