rHII).K - TIIK \V(H)I)IM:rKi:US. 



r)41 



the bo<(imiin;4 of A]>ril, after wliicli ])ori(Ml he lu'ver nltscrvcd it in llmsc dis- 

 tricts. A few niilv, suconliiiLT t«> tln' s;iiiil' jiiillioritv. \nvM in Kfiituckv, Imt 

 tlitj ^Tt'iitei' iiuiiiin'r minnitu to the iiuut? iKU'tln'iii piiris of tlic riiion. He 

 «U'Scril>es it, in its lial>it.s, us ]H('fciTiii;; the iiiteiinr tA' the forest diiriiiL; llie 

 spring,' and suiiiiiier, sehlom showiiii; itself near tlit* hal»ilati«»n of man at 

 those seasons. It i^enerally, he achls, Itores its nest jit ii consideralde liciulil, 

 and usnally in the trunk of an nmh-eayeil tree, innnediately heneath a lar;,'e 

 branch, ami on its southern side. Tlie hole is worked out hv the male as well 

 as the female, in the manner followed by the other sj»ecies, an«l to the de]>th 

 of from fifteen to twenty-tour inches. The aj»erture is just lar«j;e enoui^jh to 

 admit the birds, but the whoh' witlens ijradually towards the bottom, where 

 it is lar«^e and roomy. The e,!,^,us, which are from four to six, and i>ure white, 

 with a slight blush, are de]»osited on the chii>s without any nest. The 

 youn^^ seldom leave the lude until they are fully Hedixed. 



^Ir. Audubon elsewhere speaks of having found this species extr«;mely 

 abundant in the u])per j»arts of the State <»f Maine and in the iMovinces of 

 Xova Scotia and New Urunswiek ; but he saw none in Newfoundland or 

 T^ibrador. 



For my specimens of the eiri^'s of this species and valuable information as 

 to its habits, I am indebted to Mr. Charles S. Taine, of East P.ethel, Vt., 

 in which State it seems to Ik; ([uite almndant. In a letter written in the 

 summer of lSr»0, he furnishes the results of his observations relative to their 

 hal>its, so far as they have fallen under his notice. 



The Yellow-bellied Woodpeckers reach the central and northern parts of 

 that State about the inth of A]>ril. They soon make their ])resence known 

 there by their loud and continued drummiuLj, nither than ta]>pin.l,^ on the 

 trunks and larger branches of decayin«( trees. Of this drunimiuL!; tlu^y seem 

 to be ]>eculiarly fond, especially where they can produce a loud rini^ini,' 

 sound. Sometimes, when ^Fr. Taine had been en^ained in the process (.f pre- 

 paring ma])le sui;ar, he had left a few empty wooden buckets hanniuLj; on the 

 branches of trees, until needed for use. ri)on the.se the ]>ird will drum, 

 apparently with the jjjreatest delii^dit. At times they would exi)eriment ujton 

 the tin ])ails, but, bein,!^ unalde to obtain j^ood standing-ground, they did not 

 follow it u]). On such occasions their drumminu did not a]»}»ear to be 

 done in the i)ursuit of worms or food, but was very evidently for their own 

 entertainment, or in a s]>irit of rivalry one with another, as if seekini^ to 

 please their mates. When two male birds meet, they pursue each other 

 through the woods with great clamor. They have a loud, distinct, and lively 

 note, but their favorite music a])pears to be this drumming. They mate and 

 commence the excavation of their nests the last week in April. Tlieir eggs 

 are usually deposited, in this section, somewhere l)etween the 2(Hh of May 

 and the first of June. The excavations for their nests are nsuallv made in 

 the tops of large decaying trees. He adds that he found four or five f>f 

 these nests that vear. The e^nrs of one of these he was al)le to obtain with- 



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