Wayne: Birds op South Carolina. 87 



The eggs are undoubtedly laid early in April as I have seen young 

 birds catching fish for themselves by May 31. The eggs are 

 glossy white, and are said to number from five to eight, and to 

 measure 1.35X1.05. 



The Kingfisher catches fish by hovering in the air after the 

 manner of the Fish Hawk, or by perching on a limb or snag over 

 the water, and plunging beneath the surface. On Capers' Island 

 there are innumerable live oak trees and snags out in the surf 

 (as I have already mentioned in previous pages) upon which 

 the Kingfishers perch and plunge into the sea for small fish. 



The Belted Kingfisher is found from Arctic America to the 

 West Indies. 



ORDER PICI: WOODPECKERS, WRY- 

 NECKS, ETC. 



FAMILY PICIDiE: WOODPECKERS. 



159. Campephilus principalis (Linn.). Ivory-billed Wood- 

 pecker. 



I have never seen this magnificent bird alive in this state, 

 although I have thoroughly explored, during the past twenty- 

 five years, nearly all the great swamps from Charleston to the 

 Savannah River with the hope of finding it. The former occur- 

 rence of this species in the vicinity of Charleston, as well as in the 

 interior of the State, is attested by the works of Wilson, Audubon, 

 and others. As late as 1879, these woodpeckers were observed 

 by the late Mr. J. H. Happoldt (who was a good observer of birds 

 as well as a thorough sportsman) within nine miles of Charleston. 

 The late Dr. Cornelius Kollock of Cheraw, observed three speci- 

 mens of this species on a dead oak tree in April, 1889, on the 

 banks of the Pee Dee River, near Cheraw. I quote an extract 

 from a letter to me by Dr. Kollock, dated July 27, 1891, referring 

 to the specimens he saw: 



The last I saw near Cheraw, of which I wrote you, announced their presence by 

 this note, which resembles the false note of a clarionet, and is thus — pait, pait, pait, 

 so very loud and clear that it can be heard several hundred yards. I was not 

 thinking of them till I heard from a large dead oak tree near the road — pait, pait, 

 pait. Looking up I saw three digging into the tree, for worms I presume. I 

 presented two specimens of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Picus principalii) to the 

 Charleston Museum in 1860. 



Mr. T. M. Ashe observed several specimens of these rare birds 



