l82 Hasrkoick Ofi the Irorv-h/'/lcd Woodfrcher. [April 



In Mississippi Prof. VVailes * speaks of it as follows : 



"Chief of his tribe, the majestic Ivory-bill Woodpecker cleaves his waj 

 through the air, in a series of peculiar and singularly graceful undula- 

 tions .... 'Disdaining the grovelling haunts of the common herd of 

 Woodpeckers,' he seeks his favorite resorts in the loftiest trees in the most 

 secluded forests, and from the blasted arms of the lordly cypress or the 

 mast-like trunk of the towering pine sends forth his clear and clarion 

 notes, and startles the ear with the resounding strokes of his powerful 

 beak." 



Mr. Young (already mentioned) writes from Waverly, Clay 

 Co., — "In the early settlement of this section the Ivory-bill was 

 verv common, but since the country has become settled, the spe- 

 cies, naturally wild, has retired to the unfrequented parts of the 

 forest and is rarely seen here now (1S90). I saw a beautiful 

 specimen in Monroe County in 1SS5 on the Tombigbee River, 

 while in the flat woods beyond Houston they are frequently met. 

 I have seen quite a number recently in the Mississippi bottom, 

 which is now a favorite place for them, as the timber, which has 

 been deadened, furnishes them with all the material necessary for 

 a good living, and my observation leads me to the belief that a 

 rod oak timbered country is their favorite feeding groimd in this 

 region." In January, 1S85, Mr. Maurice Thompson seciu-ed a 

 specimen at Bay St. Louis, and according to Mr. Rawlings 

 Yoiuig, of Corinth, it is still foiuid in the Yazoo Delta, antl along 

 the Mississippi River. 



Its presence in Louisiana rests on two records: — the first, a 

 specimen at the Smithsonian taken at Prairie Mer Rouge, Moor- 

 house Parish, in 1853 ; the second, an account of its being seen 

 at St. Joseph, Tensas Parish, by Mr. Gideon Mabbett, and for 

 which no date is given. This scarcity of records is not surpris- 

 ing when the natiu'c of the courtry and the class of people inhab- 

 iting by far the larger part of it is taken into consideration, and 

 the same may be said of Arkansas, Missouri and Tennessee, — 

 that in swamp country where the main object in life is to raise 

 sulficient during the summer months for sustenance throughout 

 the winter, little scientific element is to be found. 



Texas, however, has a somewhat better showing, — the testi- 

 mony of Mr. G. H. Ragsdale being that in the early settlement 

 of Cooke Coimty it is reported from that locality, but is not foimd 



* Rep. Agric. and Geol, Miss. 1854, 323-324. 



