OF EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA. 131 



when disturbed whilst feeding. It may be somewhat accu- 

 rately expressed by the syllable tchitck. 



About the beginning of May, and occasionally during the 

 last week of April, when the season is unusually forward, 

 the sexes consort together and may be seen perching upon 

 the same branch, chasing each other around the trunk, or 

 pursuing each other in their short flights from tree to tree. 

 The peculiar tapping noise which greets the ear in one's 

 journey through the woods in the winter, and which is evi- 

 dently associated with the feeding process, now becomes ap- 

 parently louder and more frequent, and certainly serves to 

 note the whereabouts of the male. This is the season of 

 mating. 



This essential business being over, both birds evidently 

 look around the country for a suitable tree in which to con- 

 struct a nest. On these occasions, they separate and pursue 

 different directions. Should a favorable site be selected by 

 one of the birds, the attention of the other is called to the 

 spot by the aforementioned drumming sound, but in some 

 cases, the joyful news is conveyed in person. Both birds in- 

 stantly repair to the spot, and after a brief consultation, de- 

 cide whether or not to avail themselves of it. Should the 

 conference result favorably, immediate operations are at once 

 begun ; or, if unfavorably, the search is continued until a place 

 is found which is mutually satisfactory. Sometimes a branch 

 already hollowed is made use of. The labor of digging a 

 hole devolves not more upon the male than upon the female ; 

 although the female is generally the first to commence oper- 

 ations. The hole is excavated horizontally for nearly five 

 inches, and then vertically for twice the distance. The 

 place selected for nesting is mostly an apple-tree in an 

 orchard, sometimes a pear or a cherry being chosen for the 

 purpose, and, occasionally, an oak or a poplar in the midst of 

 high open woods, or even in dense thickets. It has been 

 said that these birds sometimes construct holes in the rails of 

 old fences, but such unusual places have never fallen under 



