PTrTD.E-TTTE WOODPECKKRS. ^Xl 



Professor Bainl in lS."iS jis in tliL- lolU'ctioiis (»t' the Sniithsonian Institu- 

 tion, six are from Pi'imsylvania, two from Massaeliusetts, two from Missouri, 

 one frcun IJonhonim*' Islantl in Nchraska, an<l the rest fioin Fort Lraveu- 

 worth, Salt Creek, Fort lJil«'_v, aii<l Platte K'iver in Kansas. It is (juite 

 eoniUKm throu;4liout the coast r»*i;i!»n of Alaska, exclusive of the Aleutians, 

 and throujLjhout the entire vallcv of the Yukon. Wilson makes no mentinn 

 of its geo^rajjliical distribution. jiro]>al»ly l)ecause he found it everywhere 

 common, to the extent of liis own investi^'ations. Audultou sjicaks of it as 

 very ,!4enerally distrihuted from tiie lower parts of Louisiana to i^il>rador, 

 and as far westward as he travelled. 



Sir John Pichardson states thai this species is a constant inhabitant (jf the 

 fur countries up to the 08th ])arallel. It .seeks its food i)rincipally on the 

 maide, elm, and asii, and, north of latitude o-^\ where these trees are n(»t 

 found, on the aspen and biich. 



Accordini,' to Wilson, the.se birds select a suitable place for the excavation 

 of their nest, about the middle of May. An apple, [»ear, or cherry tree, often 

 in the nejir neighljorhood of a farm-house, is generally fixed U[)on for this 

 purpose. The work of excavation is begun l)y the male, who cuts a hole in the 

 solid woo<l as circular as if described with a pair of compasses. He is occa- 

 sionallv relieved bv the female, both i)arties -workini' with the most inde- 

 fatigable diligence. The direction of the hole, when made in the body of 

 the tree, is downward by an angle of forty degrees for the distance of six or 

 eight inches, and then directly downward for ten or twelve more. Within, 

 the excavation is roomy, capacious, and as smooth as if polished by the hand 

 of the most finished workman. The entrance is, however, left only just 

 larj^e enough to admit the bodies of the birds. During their labor thev even 

 take the pains to carry their chips to a distance, to prevent suspicion. 

 This operation sometimes occupies the chief part of a week. The eggs are 

 generally six in number, pure white, and laid on the smooth bottom of the 

 cavity. The male supplies the female with food while she is sitting. The 

 young generally leave the nest about the last of June. 



The same writer also gives an interesting account of the impudent coolness 

 of the House Wren, who, coveting the well-built home of this Woodpecker, and 

 unable to excavate such an apartment for itself, waits until the poor Wood- 

 peckers have completed their work, and then attacks them with violence and 

 drives them off from the nest they have been at so much pains to prepare. He 

 states that he saw a striking example of this, where the Woodpeckers, after 

 commencing in a cherry-tree, within a few^ yards of the house, and having 

 made considerable progress, were turned out by the Wren. They began again 

 on a pear-tree in the garden, a few yards off, when, after digging out a most 

 complete apartment, and laying one e^^*^, they were once more assaulted by 

 the same impertinent intruder, and finally forced to abandon the place. 



Mr. Audubon gives substantially the same account of their nesting, only 

 he assigns an earlier period, the middle of April, for its com.mencement, and 



