I'lriD.i; TIIK WdODPKCKKIiS. 541 



the bogiiiniii^' cif April, iiftui' which poriod he luncr oliscrvcil it in tiiosn dis- 

 tricts. A l\iw iiiily, iifcdrdiiiL,' to llic siiiiio luithoril y, hrcinl in Kiiiitiicky, Imt 

 the yroator luiiiilicr mij^ruto to thi) nunv iinrliicrii parts of tlic I'liioii. Ho 

 dcscrihos it, in its liuhits, us iircl'ciTin^ tiiu interior oi' tiic forest (hiring' the 

 si)rin,t,' iiiid .sununer, sehloni showing itself near the liiil)itation of man at 

 those seascjns. it generally, he adds, liores its nest at a eonsidcralile lieiglil, 

 and usually in the trunk of an tuideeayed tree, immediately lieneath a largo 

 branch, and on its southern side. The hole is worked out by the male as well 

 as the female, in the manner followed by the other sjiecies, and to the de])tli 

 of fnmi fdteen to twenty-four inches. The ajierturo is jnst large enough to 

 admit the birds, but the whole widens gradually towards the bottom, where 

 it is large and roomy. The eggs, which an; from four to six, and jiure wliite, 

 with a .slight blush, are dejtositod on the chips without any nest. The 

 ytiung seldom leave the hole until they are fully Hedged. 



Mr. Audubon elsewhere sjieaks of having found tlii.s specie.s extremely 

 abundant in the ujipcr parts of the State of Maine and in the Provinces of 

 Nova Scotia and Xew Brunswick; but he saw none in Nowioundland or 

 Labrador. 



For my specimens of the eggs of this species and valuable information a.s 

 to its haliits, I am indebted to Mr. Charles S. I'aine, of Kast lictiiel, Vt., 

 in which State it .seems to be (juite abundant. In a letter written in the 

 stmnner of IHllO, he furnishes the results of his observations relative to their 

 habits, so far as they have fallen under his notice. 



The Yellow-bellied Woodpeckcns reach the central and northern parts of 

 that State about the Kith of April. They soon make their jiresence known 

 there by their loud and continued drununing, rather than tapping, on the 

 trunks and larger l)ranchos of decaying trees. (.)f this driinmung they seem 

 to be ])eculiarly fond, es])ecially where they can ])roduce a bind ringing 

 sound. Sometimes, when Mr. I'aine had lieen engaged in the ]»roce.ss of pre- 

 paring maple sugar, he had left a lew empty -wooden buckets hanging on the 

 branches of trees, until needed for use. Tpon these the liird will drum, 

 apparently with the greatest delight. At times they would o.xperinicnl upon 

 th(! till jiails, l)ut, l)eing unalile to obtain good standing-ground, they did not 

 follow it u]). On such occasions their drumming did not a])])('ar to be 

 done in the ]>ursuit of worms or i'ood, but was very evidently for their own 

 entertainment, or in a sjiirit of rivalry one with another, as if seeking to 

 please their mates. When two male liirds meet, tliey pursue each other 

 through the woods with great clamor. They have a loud, distinct, and lively 

 note, but their fixvorite music appears to lie this drumming. They mate and 

 commence the excavation of their nests the last week in April. Their eggs 

 are usu.ally deposited, in this section, somewhere between the '20th of May 

 and the first of June. The excavations for their nests are usually made in 

 the tops of large decaying trees. He adds that he found four or five of 

 these nests that year. The eggs of one of these he was able to f)1itaiii with- 



