THE COLLECTORS' MONTHLY. 



11 



ful book, "History of the Birds of Kan- 

 sas," when he was suddenly summoned 

 away. He died March 10,1891 at the 

 town of Neosho Falls, (which he founded) 

 of heart disease. His remains were taken 

 to Topeka and laid in state in the Senate 

 Chamber, at wind) place the obsequies 

 took place March 12. It was the first 

 funeral ever held there. He was buried 

 in the beautiful cemetery of Topeka be- 

 side the remains of his wife, upon the lit- 

 tle plot he prepared for them years ago. 

 Kansas wept as she realized that one 

 of her truest champions had bowed his 

 head and laid aside the mantle of life for- 

 ever.— State Journal. 



[Written for Oollectors' Monthly.] 



Pileated Woodpecker. 



(Ceophoeus pileatus. 405.) 



Scarlet crest and malar striped, black 

 patch around and back of eye to the oc- 

 ciput, a white stripe from nasal fossa, 

 passing back over the lores between the 

 eye and malar region, covering the low- 

 er ariculars and down on sides of neck. 

 Throat also white, jugulum and body 

 dull black. Wings white and black up- 

 per mandible and tip of lower horn blue, 

 balance of lower white. Tail black. The 

 spear tip on the tongue about three- 

 eights of an inch long, with seven spines. 

 Total length of tonge nine inches. 

 Length 18 inches, bill two inches, ex- 

 tent 28 inches. Female like male with 

 exception that nuchal part of crest only 

 scarlet and no scarlet malar stripe. 



While out collecting Christmas eve, my 

 bird dog flushed a pair of these birds 

 among some fallen timber, down a hol- 

 low in a heavy wooded district. I winged 

 the male by a fortunate long- shot, and 

 succeeded in getting him after quite a 

 struggle, with plenty of noise made both 

 by dog and bird, for he kept my pointer 

 completely at bay with his heavy bill 



and sharp claws. Be was a beauty. I 

 have his skin now before me mounted. I 

 founds ni'st of these samebirdslasl May, 

 but it was inaccessable, being in a great 

 oak, overhanging a precipitous bluff. \ 

 lay in ambush three days, watching this 

 ncsi ami also a hawk's near by, in hopes 

 of securing a specimen, but failed. If I 

 found the female on the nesl she would 

 peep at me, uttering those peculiar notes, 

 warning her companion; and should I 

 find her a way, they would not return, 

 no matter how well hidden 1 was or how 

 long I remained. 



Last October I visited these same 

 woods hunting quail, and came upon 

 five of these birds extremely wary. I pre- 

 sumed it was the two old birds and three 

 of their young. In flying from one piece 

 of woods to another, they all wear to- 

 gether, seeming to be led principally by 

 one bird, all generally alighting on the 

 same tree, and if in sight, they immedi- 

 ately hid bedind the trunk and limbs of 

 the tree very dexterously, and at my ap- 

 proach would leave noiselessly, and often 

 unseen, but on alighting would raise 

 that loud, clucking cackle peculiar to 

 them. 



This specie is our representative of the 

 Great Black Woodpecker of Europe, 

 — Picas Matrus — which was supposed by 

 the ancient Romans to be the direct de- 

 scendant of Picas the augur and sooth- 

 sayer, of which it is fabled in Roman 

 Mythology, that Picus was a great sooth- 

 sayer and prophet, beloved by Circe, who 

 seeing that her affections were not re- 

 quited and that Picus loved Pomona, 

 she transformed him into a peckerwood, 

 a bird he used in his art. which still re- 

 tained the prophetic powers formerly 

 posessed by him. -i. a. b. 



[Written for Collet-tors' Monthly.] 



The Varied Tin n-ii. 

 Hesperocicbla Aaevia. {Gmel.) 



This handsome representative of the 



