116 THE WOODPECKER. 



returned, and on opening the door, he set up the same 

 distressing shout, which now appeared to proceed from 

 grief, that he had been- discovered in his attempts to 

 escape. He had mounted along the side of the win- 

 dow, nearly as high as the ceiling, a little below which 

 he had began to break through. The bed was cov- 

 ered with large pieces of plaster ; the lath was expos- 

 ed for at least fifteen inches square, arid a hole large 

 enough to admit the fist opened to the weather boards ; 

 so that in less than another hour, he would certainly 

 have succeeded in making his way through. 



" I now tied a string around his leg, and fastening it 

 to the table, again left him. I wished to preserve his 

 life, and had gone off in search of suitable food for 

 him. As I reascended the stairs, I heard him again 

 hard at work, and on entering, had the mortification to 

 perceive that he had almost entirely ruined the ma- 

 hogany table to which he was fastened, and on which 

 he had wreaked his whole vengeance. 



While engaged in taking the drawing, he cut me 

 severely in several places, and on the whole displayed 

 such a noble, and unconquerable spirit, that I was fre- 

 quently tempted to restore him to his native woods." 



These birds lay their eggs in the bodies of trees, 

 generally selecting for this purpose one of the largest 

 they can find. The pair assist each other in the work 

 of digging out a large cavity, which is sometimes four 

 or five feet deep, and at the bottom of which it is scoop- 

 ed out in form of a dish, to contain the eggs and bird. 



The common note of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker^ 

 resembles the sound of a trumpet, or the high tone of 

 the clarionet, and is repeated every three or four sec- 



