Mar. 1888.J 



AND OOLOGIST. 



41 



took. Finding the use of the saw also impera- 

 tive, I took tlip axe and set in. The nest con- 

 tained two ejrgs, quite fresh ; so tile set was in- 

 ooniplete. After the liirds had bored Ihrongh 

 two inches of solid live wood, they found the 

 interior white and soft. How did they know 

 the trees were decomposing':' I should say Ijy the 

 sound produciul when they rapjied on it with 

 their bills. 



In April 18SG, while w.-Ukini; througli a piece 

 of woodland, I saw a F^ojjeock lijjlit upon a 

 dead oak, and lioppiiig up nearly to the top, 

 he ffave a sliarp rap. His mate came out of a 

 hol(' a little abuve, and (lew away ; then he went 

 in, but whether lie intende(i to work or was only 

 curious to know what his wife had been doing, 

 I do not know. It is probable, however, that 

 he assists her. 



Not having tlie time to while away, it was a 

 week later and growing dark wlien I returned, 

 so I felt sure if the bird had completed the 

 set she would then be in. She was. I called 

 the following day and found her at home. The 

 nest was about forly-tive feet higli, and the 

 sight of tlie tree made me rather nervous. It 

 was nearly three feet in diameter and had but 

 one limb, which being •' shaky," contributed 

 much by way of picturesque ert'ect, but very 

 little to my support. However, a laborious 

 climb brought me, with bleeding wrists, to the 

 \Vo(jilpeckcr"s door, and contident the full 

 number had been laid, I cut through tlie well- 

 decayed wood. Well, as hard luck would have 

 it, not a single egg had been deposited. I have 

 since frightened the I)<iwny Woodpecker out of 

 her nest after sunset, and cut in to find no eggs ; 

 so it would seem the habit of remaining over 

 night in tlie untinislied cavity is common with 

 the Picidcv. 



Farmers have told me of nests of this bird 

 within ten feet from the ground, but I have 

 never found them near so low. Tlie remaining 

 nests found by me are represented below : 



No. 1. About seventy-five feet high in an oak. 

 Saw parent feeding young. 



No. i. In oak forty-five or fifty feet up. Took 

 set of five eggs. 



No. 3. In maple thirty-five feet up. A fair 

 tree to climb but quite a distance from home, 

 and the nest not fiiiislied. Did not return. 



No. 4. -Vbout forty-five feet up in ash, with- 

 out bark or limbs; and weather-bleached. 

 Walked around it a great deal but never climlied 

 up. 



Xo. o. About eighty feet high, in a frightful 

 oak. Did not disturb it. 



The shell of the egg is clear in the first state 



of incubation, and tlie blood in the embryo 

 veins within is clearly visible. It retains its 

 semi-transparency for some hours after being 

 blown, and then gradually dons the white pol- 

 ish of the cabinet specimen. The complement 

 ranges from four to six. No nest, properly 

 speaking, is made, but some fine chips are left 

 at the bottom of the excavation, on which the 

 eggs are deposited. 



The Logcock is a strikingly haudsome bird, 

 and his lord-like demeanor would indicate he is 

 fully conscious of it. Wlieu fiying, the white 

 on his wings is shown in pleasing i-ontrast to 

 his otherwise dark plnmage. His large head is 

 attached to his body by an almost thread-like 

 neck, but it has no comic effect. He has sev- 

 eral ways of winding his horn, all producing a 

 respectable racket. His rapidly reiterated put ! 

 jmt! put-it! put-it! ptit-it! may be heard 

 thronghont the .year. Mrs. Logcock, too, can 

 " make the welkin ring" when disposed. 



One who has only seen the stufl'eil biid in 

 the museiiin has but a vague conception of the 

 force of his stroke. When seen in his native 

 haunts, throwing bark from a dead tree, or 

 hammering on a live one, it truly seems a case 

 of " Woodman spare that tree." Vet it is for 

 the good of the forest, not the wanton exercise 

 of a destructive tool. He will go as the forest 

 goes, ami the scientist may impose what he will 

 on the taxidermist, but as nature deprives a 

 bird of its office, she will deprive us of our 

 bird. 



Ever on the alert, the I>ogcock is hard to 

 shoot, and unless ambushed or shot at first 

 sight, it is well to make a list of him with your 

 game for another day, for if once chased or 

 friglitened, he must have a good night's repose 

 to effiice the recollection of it. 



This woodpecker seems to be better prepared 

 for continued flight than the smaller ones, 

 while the characteristic woodpecker flat) and 

 dip is recognizable. 'J'hat decided and appar- 

 ently fatiguing way of jumping through the 

 air, so conspicuously noticeable in the flight of 

 Pimis puhesce.iis and other diminutive species of 

 the genus, appears to be wanting in the flight of 

 this bird. It is generally seen in couples, at all 

 seasons, and perhaps pairs for life. Once com- 

 mon in our county, it will soon be listed with 

 the rare species; nor does it occasion surprise 

 that such should be the case when one is ap- 

 prised of the strange ways in which the bird is 

 sometimes abused. I believe no one has killed 

 it in order to obtain its legs for pipe stems, as 

 It is alleged the mariners did the Dodo, but I 

 am told by old sportsmen that it was a once not 



