I'lriD.K TIIK WooDPKCKKIIS. 41)9 



hxT'^i' liviT. It tlii'ii Hies in tlcc]) uiululation^^, njMMiin*,' its win^s at first to 

 thi'ir lull extent, jinil nearly closing' them to renew their impulse. The 

 transit Irnm tree to tree is jHMtormed l»y a sinj^le sweep, as if the hinl had 

 lieen swun^' in a eurve«l line from the one to the other. 



Kxeept (luring the love-seaaon it never utters a sound when on the winj^. 

 On alij^diting, or when, in aseendin^' a tree, it leaps a^^ainst the upper j»arts 

 of the trunk, its reniarkahle voiee may K' constantly heard in a clear, loud, 

 and rather plaintiye tone, sometimes to the distance of half a mile, and 

 rcsemhlinj^ the false hi^h note of a clarionet. This may he represented hy 

 the monosyllahle ^Kfif thrice repeated. 



The food of this Woodpecker consists princii)ally of beetles, larva', and 

 larj^e grubs. They are also especially fond of ripe wihl grapes, which they 

 eat with great avidity, hanging by their claws to the vines, often in the 

 position of a Titmouse. They also eat rijte pei'simmons, hackberries, and 

 other fruit, but are not known to disturb standing corn nor the fruits of the 

 orchard. 



These birds attack decaying trees so energetically as often to cause them 

 to fall. So great is their strength, that Audubon has known one of them 

 to detach, at a single blow, a strij) of bark eight inches long, and, by begin- 

 ning at the top branch of a dead tree, tear (liX the bark to the extent of 

 thirty feet in the course of a few hours, all the while .sounding its loud 

 notes. 



Mr. Audubon further states that this species generally moves in pairs, that 

 the female is the least shy and the most clamorous, and that, except when 

 digging a hole for the reception of their eggs, they are not known to 

 excavate living trees, but only those attacked by worms. When wounded, 

 they seek the nearest tree, and a.scend with great rapidity hy successive hops. 

 When taken by the hand, they strike with great violence, and inflict severe 

 wounds with their bills and claws. 



Mr. Dresser states that these birds were found on the Brazos River, and 

 also on the Trinity, where they were by no means rare. 



Wilson dwells at some length and with great force njjon the great value 

 of these birds to our forests. They never injure sound trees, only those 

 tliseased and infested with insects. The pine timber of the Southern States 

 is often destroyed, thousands of acres in a season, bv the larvai of certain in- 

 sects. In Wilson's day this was noticeable in the vicinity of Georgetown, 

 S. C, and was attributed by him to the blind destruction of this and other 

 insect-eating birds. 



An egg of this species (Smith. Coll., No. 16,196) taken near AVilming- 

 ton, N. C, by ^Ir. N. Giles, measures 1.35 inches in length by .95 of an 

 inch in breadth. It is of a highly polished porcelain whiteness, and is nuich 

 more oblong iu shape and more pointed than are the eggs of Hylotomus 

 pilcatus. 



