'?J)P, YELLUW- BELLIED [VOODP;:CKKri. 



Youvyfc.mnk. Similar to the male in tlie same s^tagc, the white ol' thi' thro:it lifini; ohseureil liy hvnwnish hut tl-.e 

 tirea'it i^ not as distinetly liandeU witli dusl;y. 



NesUinijs. A pattern of the marl<ings (if the more mature staffs is retained to a eon~idera)>le extent hut there i-; a 

 'ilaty-lwnvn wasliing ohseuring the colors of the liack, head, and I.Aver surface wliern it is harrcd with dusky. The males 

 oci-asionally show some red on the head and throat liat nut of a I'.rirc series of fjuirdes now Ijefore me, I dn not find nue 

 which cxhil)its the slightest trace of this. Dill anil feci, suailar to the iireeeding. 



OliSRRVATlONS. 



Specimens in the adult stage vary in amount of white markings, especially on the tail, as some have the ciaifral feath- 

 ers harred with it. This is also true of the young and even of the nestlings. Occasi(mally a hand of scarU^fc rc])laces ilic 

 white on the oecijrat; this constitutes the variety, nuchalis, which was at first supposed to occur only in the AVcst hut 

 which may be frequently found in all sections Ea,st where tlie s|iecies occurs. The nestlings vary considerahly in amount of 

 sulph.ury-yellow, usually there are Ijut slight traces of it below liut cme now liefore nie is slightly tinged with it, even on the 

 to]i of the head. Kcadily known from all of our Woodjjeckers liy the markings a.s described. Distributed during suiumcr 

 throughout Eastern North America, north of latitude 44'^, and along the mountain ranges, further south. Winters in 

 Eastern United States, south of the latitude of rcnnsylviinia. In [ireparing this article, I am indebted to Messrs. E. II. 

 Brackett and W. U. Dowse and the Bangs Brothers for the useof sjiccimcns. 



DIMENSIONS. 



Average measurements of eighteen specimens from Eastern North America, [jcngth, 8'2.5; stretcli, I1-R2; wing, 4-S(); 

 tail, 2-55; bill, "80; tarsus, '85. Longest specimen, S'TS; greatest e.^tent of wing, 15-44; longest wing, 5-00; tail, 3-10; hill, 

 "95; tarsus, TOO. Shortest specimen, 7-75; smallest extent of wing, 14-:!1; shortest wing, 4-C-2; tail, 2-(H); hill, -85; tarsus, 

 •70. 



DESCRIPTION OF NESTS AND EGGS. 



Nests, ])laced in gourd-shaped holes, usually excavated iu dead trees. Dimensions, diameter of external orifice, I'SO, 

 greatest internal, 5'(10. Internal depth, 14'0f). 



7Cf/ys, four to seven in number, idliiitical iu fn-m, ])urc, polished iiearly-wliitc in (dlor, unspotted. Dimensions from 

 fiOx-7;j to -7.5 X -85. 



HABITS. 



The Yellow-bcllic(1 Woodpecker.'* fmd their summer homes in those vast evero-reeii 

 forests which still cover a Inrg'e portion of Northern New England. It is true that these 

 sha.dowy woodlands ai'c also the chosen resort of several other species of this family but 

 tiie beautii'ul birds of which I am speaking, outnumber them all; in fact, one can scarce- 

 ly enter a patc.h of wood after the ftrst of May without being greeted by their querulous 

 (M-ies. Although found everywhere in the; shelter of trees, yet they are most abundani in 

 the vicinity id' water for they prefer to luiild their nests in dead trees that stand in the hor- 

 (hu's of lakes or ponds. I well remember my first experience in searching for the eggs of 

 the Yellow-bellied Woodpeckers and although, as the sequel will show, it can scarcely be 

 considered as a red-letter day as far as collecting was concerned, yet it was a day full of 

 pleasant reminiscences, one of which is the little episode which I am about to relate. 



I was at Upton, !Maine, in the early summer of 1871 and one day during the second 

 week of June, in company with two friends, who are both well known to the ornithological 

 world, was floating iu a small boat on the placid waters of Lake Umbagog. We were 

 rowing along the shcn-e among the dead stubs which were very numerous. The ground 

 on which they stood had evidently been submerged for some time, as the whitened rrnnkr> 

 were nearly branchless atid, in many cases, were full of boles, many of which had been 

 made for years but nearly all were occupied, the smaller by the White-bellied Swallows and 

 the larger by tlie Crovv' Blackbirds. The bleached appearance of the wood anmnd the en- 



