THE IVOEY-BILLBD WOODPECKER. 45 



young bird in the nest was a female, and, though one-third grown, had not yet 

 opened its eyes. The feathers of the first jjhunage were apparent, beginning to 

 cover tlie down, and were the same in coloration as those of the adult female 

 bird."> 



Recent observations all tend to show that the Ivory-lolled Woodpecker is 

 an exceedingly wild and suspicious bird, and as the country becomes more 

 settled'it retires from the advance of civilization to the more inaccessible swamps, 

 where it is not so liable to be molested. In such localities it appears to be still 

 reasonably connnon, as well as on some of the islands off the south Atlantic 

 and Gulf coasts. The present restriction of its range is probably due more 

 to its wild and suspicious nature than to actual decrease in mnnbers, as it has 

 but few enemies excepting man, and is well able to protect itself against the 

 others. One of the most notable difterences in the nesting habits of this hand- 

 some Woodpecker appears to be the fact that instead of making a round entrance 

 hole, as do the smaller members of this family found in the United States, it 

 prefers one wdiich is oval in shape. 



The eggs of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker are pure china white in color, 

 close grained, and exceedingly gloss}', as if enameled. They x-m-j in shape from 

 an elongate ovate to a cylindrical ovate, and are moi-e pointed than the eg-gs 

 of most of our Woodpeckers. They appear to me to be readily distinguished 

 from those of the Pileated Woodi)ecker, some of which are fully as lai'ge. From 

 three to five eggs are laid to a set, and only one l)rood is raised in a season. As 

 both sexes among all the better-known species of Woodpeckers assist in incuba- 

 tion, it is probable that the same holds good with this species as well, and this 

 lasts probably from sixteen to eighteen days. 



The average measurement of thirteen eggs is 34.87 by 25.22 millimetres, 

 or about 1.37 by ().;i;» inches. The largest egg measures 30.83 by 2(;.1)2 milli- 

 metres, or about 1.45 by LOG inches; the smallest, 34.54 by 23.62 millimetres, 

 or about 1.3G by 0.93 inches. 



The type, specimen. No. 20365 (not figured), from a set of three eggs, 

 Ralph collection, was taken in Lafayette County, Florida, April 19, 1893. 



As all Woodpeckers' eggs are pure white, and as many difter only very 

 slightly in size and shape, but considerably in the degree of glossiness, which 

 could not be accurately shown in the illustrations, I have only figured the eggs 

 of two well-known species, selecting those of the Pileated and DoAvny Wood- 

 peckers, which show fairly well the extreme3»in size." 



■ The Auk, Vol. V, 1888, p. 186. 



-I Iiiul hoped to bo a1)lo to adil the hirgo Imperial Woodpecker, Campephilia imjuTialis, to our list 

 lii'fore this volume weut to press. Lieut. Harry C. lienson, Fourth Cavalry, U. S. Army, found it to he com- 

 uiou iu the piue f irests of the Sierra JIadre iu northern Sonora, Jlexico, in 1887, and shot a specimen within 

 50 miles of the houudary line; but up to d.ite it has not been observed by either Dr. A. K. I'isher or Mr. W. 

 W. Price, who both collected in the Chiricahua Mountains during the summer of 1894, where it is most 

 likely to be found. 



