riCID.K TllK WooDl'KCKKIlS. 5;51 



(^'oluiultia, etc.) Ii;i\T, no tmw! ol' tlu? wliitu spots on ends of outer ])riniaries, 

 always fuuiul in eastern s]ieciiiicns. 



llAnrrs. Xo memlier of this larj^f family lias a wider (listrilmt ion tliau 

 the I'ileated Woodpeekcr, extending from the (lulf of .Mexico to the ex- 

 trcmest limits of the uortliern forests, und from the Atlantic to the I'acitic. 

 It seems to be a resident everywiieie l»ut in its extreme northern localities, 

 rather than a migratory s])ecics. Thew; are speeimeus in the Snnthsonian 

 collection from Xelson liiver, on the nortii, to St. Johns liiver, Florida, on 

 the .south, and from lY'iiiLsylvania on the east to the l!io (Irande and liie Co- 

 lundiia on the we.st. Sir .lohn Uicliardsoii {Fiinna Jiiiir<i/i-Aincrir((ii(i, 11, ]). 

 ;<(I4) speaks of it as resident all tlie year in tlie interior of tiie fur countries, 

 up to the 02(1 or (J.'Ul parallels, rarely ajijiearini,' near lluds{jn"s l>ay, hut fre- 

 cpicntinj^ the "gloomiest recesses of tlie forests tliat skirt the Itocky Moun- 

 tains. Dr. AVoodiiouse, in his IJeport on tlie natural history of the expedi- 

 tion down the Zuui and the Colorado Itivers, speaks of this Woodpecker as 

 having been found abundant in the Indian Territory, Texa.s, and Xew 

 Mexico. Neither Dr. Oandjel n(n- Dr. Ileermann ;4ive it in their lists of the 

 birds of California, nor does Dr. Newlxfrry mention meeting witii it in his 

 Eeport of the zoiiloify of his route. Dr. Suckley, however, speaks of tiie 

 Log-Cock as abundant in the, vicinity of Fort Steilacooin, \\'as]iinf,'ton Terri- 

 tory, during summer, and J )r. Cooi>er also mentions it as an almndant and 

 constant resident in the forests of the Territory. 1 have occasionally met 

 with it in the wilder portions of New Hampshirii and Maine, but have no- 

 where been so fortunat(^ as t(j observe its nest or its breeding-haljits. It has 

 always seemed a very shy liird, dillicult of ajiproach, always keciping at a 

 -safe distance, and ev(M' greeting your attempts for a nearer view witli a loud, 

 cackling cry, not vndike a derisiv(>. laugh. 



According to the ob.servations of Wilson, their eggs are deposited in the 

 hole of a tree dug out by themselves, no other materials lu'ing u.scd but the 

 soft chips of rotten wood. The female lays six eggs, of a snowy whiteness, 

 and they are .said to raise two broods in a season. 



^Ir. Audulion states that it almost always breeds in the interior of the 

 forest, and frecjuently on trees placed in deei) swamps over the wattn', a])- 

 pearing to give a preference to the southern side of the tree, on which side 

 the hole is usually found to which they retreat in the winter and during 

 stormy weather. The hole is sometimes Ixired ])erpendicularly, but occasion- 

 ally in the form of that of the Ivory-iiilled W(iod|)ecker. The usual depth 

 is from twelve to eighteen inches, the breadth from two and a half to three, 

 and at the bottom live en- six. lie l)elieved they raise but a single brood 

 in a season. The young follow their parents a long while, sometiuu's until 

 the return of spring. 



Ivev. Dr. I'achman gives an interesting account of a pair of Pileated 

 "Woodpeckers building a nest in an old elm-tree in a swamp, and o('cn])ying 

 it the first year. Early the luixt spring two Uluebirds took possession of 



