2 Merkiam on Birds of Lewis County, Nciu York. 



Mr. William Brewster, that I omit all reference to their nidification, 

 and will only mention such peculiarities of habit as have escaped 

 the observation of others, or which, by their oddity, merit further 

 notice. 



In few species can the date of arrival, in spring, be ascertained 

 with such precision as in the bird now under consideration; for, no 

 sooner are they here, and recovered from the fatigue of their north- 

 ward journey, than the country fairly resounds with their cries and 

 drumming. For two or three weeks after reaching us, and before 

 the migrants have passed farther north, they are extremely abim- 

 dant, and during this period behave in a very un-Woodpecker-like 

 manner ; for, though less conspicuous in plumage, they are even 

 more clamorous and more often seen than their Red-headed cousins. 

 ,Noisy, rollicking fellows, they are always chasing one another 

 among the trees, screaming meanwhile at the tops of their voices, 

 and when three or four vociferous males alight on the same tree, as 

 often happens, their boisterous cries are truly astonishing. But, not 

 satisfied with these vocal manifestations of their din-making pro- 

 clivities, and ever desirous of demonstrating their weakness in this 

 direction, these indefatigable creatures take special delight in 

 pounding upon any hard resonant substance which chance may 

 have thrown in their way, and are never more happy than when 

 they discover some tin-roofed dwelling on which to drum. At this 

 season scarcely an hour passes, from daylight till sunset, that one 

 or more cannot be heard drumming with commendable persever- 

 ance upon the tin roofs, eave-troughs, or escape-pipes of our house or 

 some of the out-buildings. They strike the tin violently half a 

 dozen or more times, evidently enjoying the sound thus produced, 

 and then rest a few minutes before repeating the performance. 

 Each Woodpecker usually returns to the same spot, and on our 

 roof are several patches, the size of one's hand, from which the 

 paint has been entirely drummed off. On the escape-pipe they 

 sometimes follow around a joint, and by constant and long-contin- 

 ued pounding so loosen the solder that the dependent portion of 

 the pipe fiills down. How they manage to cling to these vertical 

 pipes and the nearly perpendicular portions of the roof is a mystery 

 to me. I have seen both sexes at work on our roof, but the female 

 does not often iudulge in this pastime, and is rarely obseivjd to take 

 part in the boisterous gambols of the males. In the groves and 

 forests, where tiu-roofed buildings do not abound, the Yellow-bellied 



