BIRDS OF 



on which it is said to feed. Dr. King, of River Falls, in his 

 "Economic Relations of our Birds" exonerates it from this 

 charge, and says that in the stomachs of thirty specimens 

 which he examined he found in only six a small amount of 

 material resembling the inner bark of trees, and further adds : 

 " no instance in w r hich the bark of trees has been stripped off 

 by these birds has come under my observation, nor do I know 

 of a single case in which their puncturings of the bark have 

 been fatal or even appreciably injurious to the tree." In 

 Southern Ontario a few remain and raise their young, but the 

 majority go farther north. 



GENUS CEOPHLCEUS CABANIS. 



166. CEOPHLCEUS PILEATUS (LiNN.). 405. 



Pileated Woodpecker. 



Black ; the head, neck and wings much varied with white or pale 

 yellowish ; bill dark ; male scarlet crested, scarlet moustached ; female with 

 the crest half black, half scarlet, and no maxillary patches, Length, 15-19 : 

 wing, 8^-10 ; tail, 6-7. 



HAB. Formerly, whole wooded region of North America ; now rare or 

 extirpated in the more thickly settled parts of the Eastern States. 



Nest, a hole in the trunk or limb of a tall tree. 



Eggs, 4 to 6 ; oval ; white. 



This is one of the grand old aborigines who retire before 

 the advance of civilization. It used (so we are told) to be 

 common near Hamilton, but seclusion among heavy timber is 

 necessary for its existence, and such must now be sought for in 

 regions more remote. 



It is not strictly a northern species, being found resident in 

 suitable localities both north and south, but varies considerably 

 in size according to latitude, the northern individuals, as usual 

 in such cases, being the largest. Many spend the winter in the 

 burnt tracts in Muskoka, and in spring disperse over the 

 country to breed in the solitude they seem to like. 



They are wild, shy birds, difficult of approach, but their loud 

 hammering is at all times a guide to those who wish to follow 

 them in the woods. A nest was taken in the county oi 

 Middlesex, in May, 1885, by Mr. Robt. Elliot. 



1 68 



