8 BIRDS OF , PLATA 
agricola. Like that bird, though not to the same 
extent, it has diverged from the typical Picide 
in its habits, alighting sometimes on the ground 
to feed, and also frequently perching crosswise on 
branches of trees. It has a powerful, clear, abrupt, 
and oft-repeated note, and a rapid undulating 
flight. 
The following interesting account of its breeding 
habits appears in a paper by Mr. Gibson: “ The ex- 
cavation for the nest is begun as early as September ; 
but the eggs are only laid during the first half of 
October. The hole is generally commenced where 
some branch has decayed away; but care is taken 
that the remainder of the tree is sound. It opens 
at a height of from six to nine feet from the ground, 
and is excavated to a depth of nearly a foot. Occasion- 
ally it is sufficiently wide to admit of one’s hand, but 
such is not always the case. No preparation is made 
for the eggs beyond the usual lining of some chips 
of wood. 
“ The pair which frequented the garden excavated 
a hole in a paradise-tree, and bred there for two 
consecutive years. The tree stood near one of the 
walks, and on any one passing the sitting bird imme- 
diately showed its head at the aperture, like a jack- 
in-the-box, and then flew away. Last year this pair 
actually bred in one of the posts of the horse-corral, 
notwithstanding the noise and bustle incident to such 
a locality. While waiting there, at sunrise, for the 
herd of horses to be shut in I used often to knock at 
the post, in order to make the Woodpecker leave its 
