Gbe Marbler 55 



ida and Louisiana, April and May. In Florida they begin building the 

 latter part of January and if undisturbed the eggs are laid by February ioth. 

 After the young leave the nest in April they and the parents remain together 

 until the mating season in December. During the summer they are always 

 found in bands of three to five, and I have never seen more than the latter 

 number; this would indicate that the number of young reared was one to 

 three, and groups of three and four birds are much more frequently seen 

 than the larger number. 



The call note of the Ivory-bill is said to be " loud and shrill, and to 

 somewhat resemble that of the Pileated Woodpecker." Anyone who lias 

 heard this note once will never mistake it for that of any other bird; it is a 

 single note and resembles the word Schwenk. At times keyed rather high, 

 again soft and plaintive, it lacks carrying capacity and can rarely be heard 

 over ioo yards on a still morning, while the harsh notes of the Pileated 

 Woodpecker can be heard a full mile. The note of the Ivory-bill is uttered 

 at all times while searching for food; the birds will pass through the swamp 

 from tree to tree until they com- to a good feed tree when all hands proceed 

 to tear it to pieces; and it is remarkable how quickly they will reduce a de- 

 caying maple or oak to chips in searching for the big wood grubs it contains. 

 At this time they are not at all shy, and I have approached them within 20 

 yards and stood silently for half an hour watching them at work. I have 

 never seen this bird on the ground, but they will begin low down on a feed 

 tree and work upward until satisfied; they will then go to the very top of the 

 tree and sit for a time calling to one another and rapping on the dead wood, 

 but the hammer-like blows can be heard a greater distance than the call. 



One marked feature of the nest tree of which I have seen no mention 

 made is that the outer barkof those I have examined was torn to shreds from 

 a point some distance below the nest site to 15 or 20 feet above it. This 

 made the tree noticeable for quite a distance. The last nest taken this sea- 

 son had little of this work done. I presume the birds had been too busy 

 otherwise and would have decorated it later on. 



Last season one of my men found a nest in Taylor Co. on March 16th. 

 This was situated in a dead but still sound cabbage palm about 25 feet 

 from the ground, and the old birds were feeding the young at the opening. 

 This tree had the fibre shredded up in the same manner as the cypress. For 

 some reason these birds did not breed in the same vicinity this season. I visit- 

 ed the same locality on the 20th of February but could find nothing of them. 



This beautiful Woodpecker is not uncommon in any of the vast swamps 

 bordering the Gulf coast of Northern Florida, but the collector who goes for 

 a set of eggs will find he has to work for them, and if he succeeds in getting 

 a set the first one or two seasons he will do what I could not. 



