﻿Nesting of the Arctic Three-toed Woodpecker 159 



spread \\<:r wings and Utter a "wli': e e ' ee." Fhis call, win' fi w:i 8 it-, 

 loudest al its middle point, rose and then fell to the same pitch ai which it 

 was begun. This love making greatly resembles thai oi Flickers, which 

 rriosi people who arc interested in birds must surely have seen. 



The parents, when feeding their young, usually alighted within a space 

 of three feel below the hole, an'l never directly at it-, entrance They 

 would pause here for a moment as though fearing they were observed by 

 someone. Then they would hop up to the hole and look in, anywben 

 from two up to six times, as if accustoming theii eyes to the darkness 

 Onc< in a while grubs could be seen in their bills, but, from the actions of 

 the birds when feeding their young, they appeared to be regurgitating 

 During twenty four hours the female fed the young thirty tun'-, and the 

 male twenty run': timi 



As it grew dusk, the young gradually grew guicter, and their little 

 "peep-peep peep" greatly resembled those of < hi< ks when crawling beneath 

 their mother's wings. From two o'clock in the afternoon till seven clock 

 that evei ■ ; two minutes was the longest period during which the young 

 did not utter a single ''peep." From seven cm. until two minutes after four 

 the next morning, the young bird) ceased this continuous chattering The 

 mother was the last to feed tbcm at night, the time being seventeen 

 minutes after seven; hut the male was up first in the morning At four 

 fifteen in the morning, the young uttered a few Jeepy "peepi and the 

 ma)': alighted three feet below the hole at four sixteen. 'I he young birds 

 beard him alight and immediately commenced to chatter. 'I be male bo 

 up to the hole, looked in twice, and then fed them, 'I he young birds' 

 bills were seen, indicating that they wen very hungry, and w-re banging 

 on to the inner wall of the nest near the entranc< Soon after this their 

 hunger was appej e< their bills were seen no more, and the parents dad to 

 go almost into the hole to feed them. 



The parents slept al some distance from the tree, presumab 

 rate hole-,, as we found a Hairy Woodpecker's and also an American 

 Three toed Woodpecker's i eeping hole, where single birds wen observed 

 --, retire. These sleeping holes /." r< oc< ipie< by males, arid it is guir*. 

 •', ay that the male and female sleep in different treet 



Jn tin; course of the morning, two Re< breasted Nuthatches tormented 

 the Woo- : ." k< rs for fifteen minutes. Before venturing near the dole, the 

 Nuthatcl ' ■ -heir bills together. Perhaps they w-re bidding each other 

 their i • goo ' n case on< or both of them should meet death in their 



enco titer with then largei ersari* They hovered around the hole /• •■ 

 ••s holding their tails up like Wrens. One of them finally 

 ventured into the hole so far that just his ts /• 'at protr ding Tb< wo ■ 

 fly away when the parents approached 'fie hole bul would retun 

 I the nest wj - rotecte< •' ftei - ne time the male Woodpecker wenl 



