THE OOLOGIST 



195 



large part of a Maple's main trunk 

 and as in the other, the wind played 

 its deadly part. I am not condemning 

 the woodpeckers, let no ornithologist 

 do that, it is simply as a point of in- 

 terest and as a fact to be considered 

 that I have mentioned this slight 

 damage which is far overbalanced by 

 the amount of benefit which we derive 

 from this family of birds. 



But three of the woodpeckers breed 

 in this locality, the Downey, the Red- 

 headed and the Flicker. The Downey 

 and the Flicker are by far the com- 

 monest, while the Red-headed, al- 

 though hard to locate, is not so rare 

 as is generally supposed. Many an 

 hour I have spent trying to tell wheth- 

 er I had a tree toad or a Red-head to 

 deal with, for the similarity of their 

 songs is sometimes marvelous. 



The following records are a few of 

 the most interesting ones contained in 

 my note-books. I have set down one 

 or two of the older ones, some of 

 which date back to 1894, that they 

 may be compared with those of a more 

 recent date. 



393. Hairy Woodpecker. Dryobates 

 villosus. Seen only in winter and 

 then uncommonly. 



394. Downey Woodpecker. Dryo- 

 bates pubescens. Very common per- 

 manent resident. Nesting records: 

 May 15, 1897. Stamford, Conn. Four 

 fresh eggs. Nest a cavity in an old 

 apple tree, ten feet from ground. Di- 

 ameter of entrance I14 inches. Depth 

 9 inches. May 10, 1909. Stamford, 

 Conn. Frur fresh eggs. Nest in a 

 maple stub ten feet from ground. Two 

 holes in stub, eggs in bottom one. 

 Depth of cavity 8 inches. May 17, 

 1910. Stamford, Conn. Four slightly 

 incubated eggs. Nest in a Maple stub 

 15 feet from the ground. Cavity 10 

 inches deep. 



402. Yellow-bellied Woodpecker. 

 Sphyrapicus varius. Regular fall tran- 



sient. Seen between the 10th and 

 20th of October. I have never noted 

 this bird during the spring migrations. 



406. Red-headed Woodpecker. Mel- 

 anerpes erythrocephalus. April 30, 

 1897. Stamford, Conn., 5 fresh eggs in 

 cavity of willow tree 12 feet from the 

 ground in heavy woods. The cavity 

 was the deepest I have ever found, 

 it being 18 inches from entrance to 

 bottom. May 18, 1897. Talmadge 

 Hill, Conn. 4 slightly incubated eggs. 

 Cavity in white wood tree, 14 feet from 

 ground in heavy woods. Depth 8 in- 

 ches. May 1, 1908. Stamford, Conn. 

 4 fresh eggs in an oak stub, 25 feet 

 from ground. (See illustration). 

 Cavity 12 inches deep, lined with thick 

 soft chips. A few of the birds spend 

 the winter. 



412. Flicker. Colaptes auratus. 

 .Tune G, 1894. Stamford, Conn. 3 well 

 incubated eggs, 8 feet from ground in 

 a maple stub. Cavity 8 inches deep. 

 May 27, 1894. Glenbrook, Conn. 4 

 slightly incubated eggs. Nest in a 

 cavity of an oak tree, 35 feet from the 

 ground, lined with soft chips. Depth 

 8 inches. May 25, 1898. Glenbrook, 

 Conn. 7 fresh eggs. Nest in maple 

 tree growing on the bank of a small 

 stream. The entrance to the cavity 

 was 15 feet from the ground and was 

 10 inches deep. May 27, 1907. Glen- 

 brook, Conn. 7 fresh eggs placed in 

 stub of oak tree 8 feet from the 

 ground. Cavity 8 inches deep, lined 

 with large chips. May 27, 1908. Stam- 

 ford, Conn. 7 fresh eggs in a ten inch 

 cavity in Sycamore, 37 feet from the 

 ground. This and the nest found on 

 May 27, 1894, are the highest ones 

 which have ever come to my notice, 

 all others being below 20 feet. The 

 lowest nest that I have run across 

 was thirty inches from the ground. 

 Next to the Downey, the Flicker is 

 the commonest winter woodpecker. 



Although there has been a large 



