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JOURNAL OP MAINE ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



visit in Franklin, Kennebec, Somer- 

 set, Piscataquis, Knox, Lincoln and 

 Waldo counties I have found them 

 posted. A few who had not done so, 

 very kindly posted them at my re- 

 quest. We believe much good is be- 

 ing done by so distributing these 

 posters. 



In one tovni I visit, the people 

 have always shot a few black duck, 

 in the spi'ing, as they come to the 

 ponds to breed. I had the above no- 

 tices posted in conspicuous places 

 about the pond and asked a friend 

 to keep a sharp lookout to see if any 

 ducks were disturbed on these favor- 

 able breeding grounds. After the no- 

 tices had been posted the shooting 

 stopped at once, and my friend said: 

 "Not a duck was shot about the lake." 

 It may be well here to mention, for 

 the benefit of those members who do 

 not receive the Auk, or have not seen 

 the list of members of the "A. 0. U. 

 Committee on Protection of N. A. 

 Birds," with Witmer Stone of Phila- 

 delphia, as chairman for 1901, that 

 your editor holds a place on that list 

 and would be pleased to hear from 

 any member or reader who knows of 

 any violations of the new bird law, 

 recently passed in this state. 



NOTES ON THE PILEATED WOOD- 

 PECKER. 



Read before the Maine Ornithological 

 Society, at Waterville, Dec. 31. 

 1898. 



For a number of years my acquain- 

 tance with this species was very 

 slight, being limited to the examina- 

 tion of a few mounted specimens and 

 an occasional glimpse of one in the 

 woods, where they always seemed 

 particularly wild and wary. On May 

 16th, 1895, I unexpectedly formed a 



closer acquaintance with a pair of 

 these birds. Retui-ning from a ti-ip 

 through a large block of woodland, I 

 had reached the outer portion of it, a 

 small patch of good-sized trees with 

 a little underbrush, particularly sepa- 

 rated from the main growth, by cut- 

 ting, when my attention was attract- 

 ed to a large hole, thirty feet from 

 the ground, in a small beech tree. I 

 had taken but a few steps toward the 

 tree when the head of a Pileated 

 Woodpecker appeared at the entrance. 

 Although I had my climbing irons, I 

 did not investigate, thinking the bird 

 was digging the hole, and not wish- 

 ing to drive it away. I had no idea 

 what time the eggs of this species 

 were deposited and my books and pa- 

 pers furnished no assistance. With 

 some misgivings I delayed visiting 

 the nest until the 28th. I found the 

 bird on the nest; a rap on the trunk 

 brought her to the entrance, and as I 

 started to climb she left, flying out of 

 sight without uttering a sound. A 

 slight noise proceeded from the cavity 

 and by using a small mirror, I could 

 see the chicks were just struggling 

 from the shells. There were four 

 eggs apparently about equal in size. 

 I left at once and did not visit the 

 nest again that season. 



I made several visits to the grove 

 early in May, '96. but no birds were 

 seen there, though in the larger 

 growth beyond I several times saw a 

 bird calling and rapping. On the 11th 

 I located a hole in a dead beech 

 standing not far from the tree in 

 which the brood had been reared the 

 season previous. The hole was occu- 

 pied, but so small a portion of the 

 head protruded that I could not be 

 sure it was the bird I was looking for. 

 All efforts to dislodge the bird failed, 

 so I strapped on my climbing irons 

 and ascended. When half way up the 

 tree the bird, with erected crest and 

 expanded wings, sailed from the nest 



