I'ICID.E- THK WOODI'KCKKna 4()9 



lar^'i! liver. It tlimi Hies in dec]) undulations, njit'iiinj,' its win,i,'s at first to 

 their lull extent, and nearly elusin^' tl'eni to renew tlieir ini|iul,so. Tiie 

 transit from tree to tree is pert'ornKMl \>y a siii^de swoo]), as if tlie hird had 

 been swunj,' in a eurved line from the one to the other. 



K.\eej)t during the love-.season it never utters a sound when on the \vin<j[. 

 On alightiny, or when, in aseending a tree, it leaps again.st the upper ])arts 

 of the trunk, its remarkable voice may be constantly heard in a clear, loud, 

 and rather plaintive tone, sonu'tinies to the distance of half a mile, and 

 resembling the false high note of a clarionet. This may i>e represented by 

 the mono.syllaljle ^«n'/ thrice repeated. 



The food of this Woodi)ecker consists principally of beetles, larva', and 

 large grubs. They are also es])ecially fond of ripe wild grapes, which they 

 cat with great avidity, hanging liy their claws to the vines, often in the 

 position of a Titmouse. They also eat ripe persimmons, hackberries, and 

 other fruit, but are not known to disturb standing corn nor the fruits of the 

 orcliard. 



These birds attack decaying trees so energetically as often to cause them 

 to fall. So great is their strength, that Audubon has known one of them 

 to detach, at a single blow, a stri]) of bark eight inches long, and, by begin- 

 ning at the top braiu.'h of a deail tree, tear olf the bark to the extent of 

 thirty feet in the course of a few hour.s, all the while sounding its loud 

 notes. 



Mr. Audubon further states that this species generally moves in pair.s, that 

 the female, is the least shy and the most clamorous, and that, except when 

 digging a hole for the reception of their eggs, they are not known to 

 excavate living trees, but only those attacked by worms. When wounded, 

 they seek the nearest tree, and ascend with great rapidity by successive hoi)s. 

 When taken by the hand, they strike with great violence, and inflict severe 

 wounds with their bills and claws. 



Mr. Dresser states that these birds were found on the Brazos IJiver, and 

 also on the Trinity, where they were by no means rare. 



Wilson dwells at some length and with great force iipon the great value 

 of these birds to our forests. They never injure sound trees, only those 

 diseased and infested with insects. The pine timber of the Southern States 

 is often destroyed, thousands of acres in a season, by the larvte of certain in- 

 sects. In Wilson's day this was noticeable in the vicinity of (Jeorgetown, 

 S. C, and was attributed by him to the blind destruction of this and other 

 insect-eating birds. 



An egg of this species (Smith. Coll., No. lfi,196) taken near Wilming- 

 ton, N". C, by Mr. N. Giles, measures 1.35 inches in length by .1)5 of an 

 inch in breadth. It is of a highly polished porcelain whiteness, and is nnich 

 more oblong in shape and more pointed than are the eggs of Hi/lulu/nus 

 jnlcatus. 



