BIRDS or 



on wliich it is said to feed. Dr. King, of River Falls, in h'\< 

 "Economic Relations of our Birds" exonerates it from this 

 charge, and says that in the stomachs of thirt\' specimens 

 which he examined he found in only six a small amount of 

 material resembling the inner hark of trees, and furtlier adds : 

 " no instance in which the bark of trees has been stripped off 

 b}' these birds has come under ni}' observation, nor df) I know 

 of a single case in which their puncturings of the bark have 

 been fatal or even appreciably injurious to the tree." In 

 Southern Ontario a few remain and raise their young, but tli< 

 majoritv go farther north. 



Genus CEOPIILCEUS Cab.wis. 



1()(). CEOPHL(EUS PlLb:ATrS (Linx.i. 405. 



Pileated Woodpecker 



Black ; the head, neck and wings much varied with white or pale 

 yellowish ; bill dark ; iiialv scarlet crested, scarlet moustached : female with 

 the crest half black, half scarlet, and no maxillary patches. Length, 15-19 

 wing, 8i-io ; tail, 6-7. 



Hab. l'"ormerl\ . wholr wooded region of North America . now rare or 

 extirpated in the more thickly settled parts of the I-'astern States 



Nest, a hole in the trunk or limb of a tall tree. 



Kggs, 4 to (1 ; oval : wliite. 



This is one of the grand tjld aborigines who retire before 

 the advance of civilization. It used (so we are told) to be 

 common near Hamilton, but seclusion among heavy timber is 

 necessarx' for its existence, and sucli must now be sought for in 

 regions more remote. 



It is not strictly a northern species, being foimd resident in 

 suitable localities both north and south, but varies considerabh 

 in size according to latitude, the northern individuals, as usual 

 in such cases, being the largest. Many spend the winter in the 

 burnt tracts m Muskoka. and in spring disperse over the 

 country to breed in the solitude tliey seem to like. 



Thev are wild, shv birds, difficult of approach, but their loud 

 hammering is at all times a guide to those who wish to follow 

 them in the woods. A nest was taken in the county of 

 Middlesex, in May, 1S.S5, by Mr. Robt. Elliot. 



