BIRDS OF NEW YORK 1 53 



Habits. The Pileated woodpecker when undisturbed in his native 

 haunts of the hemlock, spruce and balsam forests, is a very conspicuous 

 bird. Almost as large as a crow, but with the usual deeply undulating flight 

 of the woodpecker, he darts from tree to tree seeking for dead branches 

 and dead stubs, beneath the bark of which are concealed the wood-boring 

 larvae which constitute his principal food. A dead stub of hemlock or 

 spruce is frequently seen which has been peeled by the heavy strokes of 

 this giant woodpecker's bill, the strips of bark 6 to 8 inches in length, or 

 even longer, lying scattered about the tree for several rods, and with 

 cavities in the stub frequently dug in search of grubs 2 or 3 feet in length 

 and several inches in depth. As a woodchopper he is unsurpassed among 

 the members of this family. During the fall and winter he resorts to 

 a partial diet of mast and wild fruit, but he can not be said to do the 

 least harm to the fruitgrower or the agriculturist but, on the contrary, is 

 beneficial by destroying immense quantities of ants as well as the larger 

 grubs which enter the dead wood and destroy the standing timber. 



While flying from tree to tree he frequently gives voice to a loud cac- 

 cac-cac, and during the mating season, like most members of the family, 

 he is rather noisy, frequently drumming on dead limbs and uttering a variety 

 of flickerlike notes. 



The nesting hole is from 3 to 3! inches in diameter at the entrance 

 and extends downward through the solid wood from 12 to 30 inches in 

 depth. It is usually constructed in a dead stub from 30 to 60 feet from 

 the ground, the height averaging greater than that of any other of our 

 native woodpeckers. The eggs are 4 to 5 in number, pure white, and 

 average 1.28 by .95 inches in dimensions. New York nesting dates range 

 from May 5 to 25. 



It is unfortunate that the large size, loud note, conspicuous black 

 and white coloration, and flaming scarlet crest of this bird attract the 

 attention of all hunters that visit the forest to such an extent that its num- 

 bers are continually diminished almost to the point of extermination. 

 This calamity, together with the fact already stated that it disappears 



