186 BULLETIN 174, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Tucked in the niche formed by a great furrowlike incision in 

 the bole of a basswood tree, and about 10 feet from the ground, I 

 once found a nest of the olive-backed thrush. 



When I cut down the stub of which I have spoken, and which 

 contained four old nesting cavities of the pileated woodpecker, I 

 found the lowest, 25 feet from the ground, to be occupied by a 

 family of white-footed mice {Peromyscus maniculatus) ^ and I have 

 no doubt that these cavities, after their abandonment by the wood- 

 peckers, are commonly used by flying squirrels, by owls, and by 

 tree-nesting ducks. 



Prof. Brooks (1934) has most engagingly described the entice- 

 ment of pileated woodpeckers to come to feeding trays, and, inci- 

 dentally, has adduced evidence of their traits of caution and of 

 curiosity. To this he adds (MS.) : "I have indicated, in an article 

 in Bird-Lore, that we have found Pileated Woodpeckers something of 

 clowns. The gourd experience described in the above-mentioned 

 article seemed to be in a spirit of play. The evident curiosity dis- 

 played by many birds observed is noteworthy; under its urge they 

 apparently lose much of their fear. Around our blinds the}^ have 

 used a slow and cautious approach, but once at the feeding shelves, 

 they have not been particularly nervous or excitable. At times I 

 have found them surprisingly tame in the open woods." 



The pileated woodpecker lives, as has been said, almost entirely 

 within the forest cover. Its flight is commonly a matter of gliding 

 and of slow-measured flapping through the trees. Its appearance then 

 is unmistakable — ^large and black, with a flashing pattern of white be- 

 neath the wings, and a gleaming scarlet crest. 



At times it rises above the treetops and moves over greater distances, 

 and then its manner of flight bears greater likeness to the typical 

 bounding or galloping flight of the generality of woodpeckers. Its 

 outline against the sky is not unlike a kingfisher's. Dr. Sutton (1930) 

 describes an encounter in the Pennsylvania mountains with a bird that 

 "cackled for about fifteen minutes, pounding intermittently on a tree 

 trunk. It then rose in air, mounted to a plane above the tree-tops, 

 and flew in direct course down the valley, uttering a single, loud, 

 even-toned puck about every two seconds, as far as we could hear 

 it. The bird was still flying high when it faded from view." 



Cornelius Weygandt (1912) described from Monroe County, Pa., 

 the appearance of "the Logcock that in late July and early August 

 made the sunset hour more memorable by its passing" : 



It was on the evening of July 26 that we first saw him ♦ * * we noticed 

 a large bird flying heron-like toward us. He passed us and made his way 

 onward toward a tall broken-topped gum tree that stood out black against the 

 sunset. He "landed" on its side near the top, woodpecker fashion, and bobbed 

 downtrunk backwards for several yards. The sky was mauve and gold and 



