2 20 Nelson, The Imperial Ivory-billed Woodpecker. V^'^^ 



impatiently for the return of my assistant with the shot-gun so 

 that I might investigate. The calls continued at short intervals 

 until a little after sunrise and were the only sounds audible in the 

 otherwise silent forest. Suddenly a cannon-like roar reverberated 

 from the hillside above camp. A few minutes later my assistant 

 came down the slope and told me that the curious notes were 

 made by Ivory-bills. His attention had been drawn to them as he 

 was coming in, and climbing the hill he found three of the birds 

 close together on the trunk of a pine tree near the summit. In 

 order to make sure of the lot he put two heavy charges in his gun 

 and creeping up close to the base of the tree fired both barrels at 

 once, with the result that the recoil almost kicked him off the 

 hillside and the birds flew away unscathed uttering cries of alarm. 

 A little later we found them again in the same place and several 

 shots were fired wdthout effect. About nine o'clock five of the 

 birds set out from the hill in straggling succession bound for the 

 open pine forest of a neighboring park-like flat where during 

 the day their odd cries were heard at intervals, now distinctly and 

 again barely audible as they moved about among the trees. 



During the next few days this entire party fell victims to our 

 guns, but so long as any were left they showed strange persistence 

 in returning to their haunt on the hill. Just at sunrise each morn- 

 ing the notes were heard and between eight and nine o'clock the 

 birds flew out to their feeding ground among the dead pines on 

 the adjacent fiat. On the north slope of the hill, near the sum- 

 mit, were several large, prostrate and partly decayed tree trunks 

 with their upper surfaces chipped and dug into for several inches, 

 evidently by the powerful beaks of these Woodpeckers. The 

 birds were suprisingly easy to stalk, even after being hunted and 

 shot at for several days, but were difficult to secure because they 

 are powerful, hard-muscled creatures possessed of remarkable 

 vitality. They showed considerable attachment to one another 

 and when one was shot the other members of the flock remained 

 scattered about on the trees for a short time calling each other at 

 intervals. Wounded birds fought with savage courage. The 

 handsomely contrasted black, white, and scarlet plumage of the 

 male Ivory-bill, with the bright gleam of his golden-yellow eyes 

 make a fit combination for a habitant of one of Nature's wildest 



