Vol i9^06 :i11 ] Wayne, South Carolina Birds. 63 



pecker, returns to the same hole year after year until it can no 

 longer make the gum exude. But like the Pileated Woodpecker, 

 it is much attached to the tree in which it has first made its nest, 

 and as long as it can find a suitable spot it will continue to excavate 

 new holes until the tree is killed by this process of boring. I have 

 frequently counted as many as four holes in one tree, and in two 

 instances I have seen as many as eight. These birds seem to 

 know by instinct that the centre of the tree is rotten, or what 

 lumber men call 'black-heart,' and they never make a mistake 

 when selecting a tree! The hole is bored through the solid wood, 

 generally a little upward, and to the center of the tree (which is 

 always rotten), then downwards to the depth of 9 inches to a foot 

 or more. This species lays from two to five eggs; generally three, 

 rarely four, while five are exceptional. I have taken five eggs 

 but once — on May 14, 1902. The earliest set taken was on 

 April 27, 1884. Only one brood is raised, and these follow their 

 parents during the months of July, August, and September. 

 This Woodpecker is one of the most interesting birds we have. 

 Its notes are harsh and discordant, and it is at all times very restless. 

 Ceophlceus pileatus. Pileated Woodpecker. — This fine 

 woodpecker breeds regularly within a mile of my house every 

 year. During the month of March, 1904, I made observations 

 on a certain pair which had settled upon a dead pine as the place 

 to excavate their hole. On March 21, the opening was com- 

 menced by the female, who drilled a small hole, and by degrees 

 enlarged it until the hole was the size of a silver dollar. Both 

 sexes assisted in the excavation, but the female, by far, doing 

 most of the work. The size of the aperture was not increased 

 until the shoulders of the bird was reached, when it was made a 

 trifle larger. Every day I visited these birds in order to note 

 the progress of their work, and being so accustomed to seeing 

 me they were utterly fearless, as I could, at any time, approach 

 the one excavating to within twenty feet, without hindering it in 

 its work, although the hole was only about 30 feet from the ground. 

 The hole was completed on April 21, and the first egg was laid 

 the following morning. As incubation commences upon the 

 advent of the first egg, and as the eggs are not laid consecutively, 

 I did not again examine the contents of the nest until April 26, 



