188 BlKDS OF XOKTH CaKOLINA 



The Kingfisher i.s u soiucwliat coniiiiun bird wherever open water is found. In 

 the mountains it appears to be only a summer \nsitor, arriving in late March or 

 early April, transients at that season being kno'mi also at Raleigh and Statcsville. 



As its name implies, it is an ardent lover of fish, in the pursuit of which it plunges 

 headlong into the water. Frequently after such a plunge the bird may be seen 

 sitting on a post hammering its fish against the wood as if to kill, or tear it to 

 pieces. The prey is always carried in the bill. 



Kingfishers dig long burrows in the perpendicular banks of streams or ponds, 

 the holes ending in an enlarged chamber in which the eggs are laid. These are 

 pure white in color, and are usually six or seven in number. Size about 1.35 x 1.05. 

 Two sets of eggs taken in Bertie County by Dr. Smithwick were collected respec- 

 tively on May 7, 1896, and May 13, 1897. A nest containing four decayed eggs was 

 found by Pearson in a railroad cut in Gates County on Julj' 5, 1892. It nests not 

 uncommonly all through the eastern jiart of Iho State. 



XIV. ORDER PICI. WOODPECKERS, ETC. 



37. FAMILY PICID>E. WOODPECKERS 



This family includes small, nicdiiun, or rather large Ijirds. with stiffened and 

 pointed tail-feathers, strong chisel-shaped bills, and the toes of all North Carolina 

 species extend two in front and two behind. 



KKY TO GKNEllA 



1. Head crested; size large, wing 7.00 or more. See 2. 



1. Head not crested; smaller, wing less than 7.00. See 3. 



2. Outer hind toe longer than outer front too; bill pale. Campephilus. 



2. Outer liind toe not longer than front toe, bill dark. Phlaotomiis. 



3. Outer hind too longer than outer front toe. See 4. 



3. Outer hind toe not longer tliaii outer front toe. See 5. 



4. Nasal groove extending nearly to tip of bill; tongue greatly extensile. Drijnhalcs. 



4. Nasal groove running out on cutting edge of upper mandible, about halfway to tij); tongue 



scarcely extensile. Spli!/riii>icus. 



5. Under surface of ■wing-tjiiills and tail-feathers chiefly yellow or reddish, the shafts brighter 



yellow or red. Colaptes. 



5. Under surface of wing- and tail-cjuilLs not yellow or red. See 0. 



6. Back, scapulars, and wings l)arrecl with white. Cenlunis. 

 6. Back, scapulars, and wing-coverts i)lain. Melanerpes. 



The Ivorj'-billod \\'oodpecker, ('(ifnpcjihiliis prhicipuUs (Linn.), has not been [wsitively recorded 

 from the Stat(! since Alexander Wilson, tlio father of American ornithologj-, took a specimen 

 near Wilmington in the early thirties of the nineteentli century (.see Introduction). Reports 

 of thc> bird's occurrence are not infre(iuent, liut they may be rehed upon to refer inv.'U-ial)ly to 

 the I'ileated Woodpecker. ('o\ies and Yarrow recorded it doubtfully from I'ort .Macon in 1.S70, 

 on the strength of a rej)orted specimen wliich they had not .«ecn. It is the largest woodpecker 

 occurring in the United States, attaining a length of twenty-one inches and possessing a powerful, 

 long white bill. 



Genus Dryobates (Boie) 



This genus includes a luunbcr of small ami meditun-sizcd woodpeckers, the 

 North Carolina species of which are wholly black-and-white in color, except for 

 slight red markings on the head iti males or young birds. The underparts are 

 white or whitish, the wings black with mnnerous white spots, the tail black with 

 some of the outer feathers more or less white. 



