150 THE BIRDS ABOUT Us. 



far less timid. I could get near enough to view them 

 satisfactorily, and here they seemed, too, more de- 

 liberate. They detached enormous chips from dead 

 trees, and made as much noise in their work as they 

 did by the incessant click or cackle they found time 

 to utter. 



Wilson says , 



" The Pileated Woodpecker is not migratory, but braves the ex- 

 tremes of both the arctic and torrid regions. Neither is he gregari- 

 ous, for it is rare to see more than one or two, or at the most three, 

 in company. Formerly they were numerous in the neighborhood of 

 Philadelphia, but gradually, as the old timber fell and the country 

 became better cleared, they retreated to the forest. At present few 

 of these birds are to be found within ten or fifteen miles of the city." 



By " at present" he referred to eighty years ago, 

 and the " ten or fifteen miles" must now be multi- 

 plied by ten at least, although stragglers occasion- 

 ally are seen in settled districts. A century ago they 

 were common in the great pine forests of New Jersey, 

 but these have been so continually fire-swept, and so 

 much of the larger growth cut out, that probably 

 the bird is now wanting there. 



The pileated woodpecker is also found on the Pa- 

 cific coast, and there, too, according to J. K. Lord, is 

 " difficult to obtain from its shy habits, always hiding 

 in the dark pine forests." 



A splendid bird, but one no longer very abundant 

 in long-settled districts, is the Red-headed Wood- 

 pecker. All the woodpeckers have a bit of red about 

 their heads, but it often is but a mere patch, as if a 

 slight scratch had been bleeding ; but in this bird we 

 have with glossy black and white plumage a brilliant 



