pirrD.K- Tin: woodpeckeiw. .577 



Ihouirh not alvays, at 51 i'on.si(lt*ral»li3 lH'i;^'lit fmiii the ^touiuI. Hi- ailds tliat 

 ho lias fiCvjUeMly kii iwn tlifiii to fix on tliu trunk nf an old a}»i»le-trL'L', at a 

 heiglit not nioro than six fft't from i\w root. Hv also nici'tions as ouitc sur- 

 prising the sagai'iLy of this hiid in discovering, undor a souml hark, a hollow 

 limb or ♦^runkot'a tree, an«l its ]»ei.sev«irance in jK-rlorating it for purposes of 

 inculjation. The male and female 1 Iternately relieve anti encourage each other 

 hy mutual caresses, renewing their lalK)rs for several days, till the oliject is 

 attained, and the place rendere«l sutticiently c..i)acious, convenient, an<l secure. 

 They are often so extremely intent ui»on their 'vork as to Ini heard at ilicii 

 labor till a very late hour in the night. Wilson mentions one instance where 

 he knew a pair to dig tii*st five inches straight forward, and then downward 

 more than twice that distance, into a solid black-oak. They carry in no 

 materials for their nest, the sc^ft chips and diist of the wood serving for this 

 I)urpose. The female lays six white eggs, almost trans])arent, very thick at the 

 greater end, and tapering suddenly to the other. The young soon leave the 

 nest, clinddng to the higher branches, wliero they are fed by their parents. 



According to Mr. Audubon this Woodpecker lears two broods in a s«'ason, 

 the usual number of eggs being six. In one instance, however, Mr. MacCul- 

 loch, quoted by Audubon, si)eaks of having found a nest in a rotten stump, 

 which contained no less than eighteen young birds, of various ages, and at 

 least two eggs not quite hatched. It is not im]»robable that, in cases where 

 the number of eggs exceeds seven or eight, more females than one have con- 

 tributed to the lunnlx'r. In one instance, ui)on sawing oft" the decayed to]) 

 of an old tree, in which these birds had a nest, twelve eggs were found. 

 These were not molested, but, on visiting the place a few days after, T found 

 the excavation to have been deepened from eighteen to twenty-four inciies. 



Mr. C. S. Paine, of liandolph, Vt., writing in October, 18G<>, furnishes some 

 interesting obsers'ations made in regard to these birds in the central part of 

 that State. He .says, " This Woodpecker is very common, and makes its ap- 

 pearance about the 2()th of April. Betw^een the 1st and the loth of ^lay it 

 usually commences boring a hole for the nest, and deposits its eggs the last 

 of May or the first of June." He found three nests that year, all of which 

 were in old stumps on the banks of a small stream. Each nest contained 

 seven eggs. The boy w^ho took them out was able to do so without any cut- 

 ting, and found them at the depth of his elbow. In another nest there were 

 but three eggs wdien first discovered. The limb was cut down nearly to a 

 level with the eggs, which were taken. The next day the nest had been 

 deepened a whole foot and another egg deposited. ^Ir. Paine has never 

 knowm them go into thick woods to ])reed, but they seem rather to pre- 

 fer the edjres of woods. He has never known one to breed in an old cavitv, 

 but in one instance a pair selected a partially decayed stump for their ojtera- 

 tions. When they are disturbed, they sometimes fly around their nests, utter- 

 ing shrill, squeaking notes, occasionally intermixing with them guttural or 

 gurgling tones. 



VOL. II. ' 73 



