230 THE PILEATED WOODPECKER. 



protracted, resembling in all respects that of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. 

 Its notes are loud and clear, and the rolling sound produced by its hammer- 

 ings, may be heard at the distance of a quarter of a mile. Its flesh is tough, 

 of a bluish tint, and smells so strongly of the worms and insects on which 

 it generally feeds, as to be extremely unpalatable. It almost always breeds 

 in the interior of the forests, and frequently on trees placed in deep swamps 

 over the water, appearing to give a preference to the southern side of the 

 tree, on which I have generally found its hole, to which it retreats during 

 winter or in rainy weather, and which is sometimes bored perpendicularly, 

 although frequently not, as I have seen some excavated much in the form of 

 that of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. Its usual depth is from twelve to 

 eighteen inches, its breadth from two and a half to three, and at the bottom 

 sometimes five or six. It rears, I believe, only one brood in a season. The 

 young follow their parents for a long time after coming abroad, receive food 

 from them, and remain with them until the return of spring. The old birds, 

 as well as the young, are fond of retiring at night to their holes, to which 

 they return more especially in winter. My young friend, Thomas Lincoln, 

 Esq. of the State of Maine, knew of one that seldom removed far from its 

 retreat during the whole of the inclement season. 



The observation of many years has convinced me, that Woodpeckers of 

 all sorts have the bill longer when just fledged than at any future period of 

 their life, and that through use it becomes not only shorter, but also much 

 harder, stronger, and sharper. When the Woodpecker first leaves the nest, 

 its bill may easily be bent; six months after, it resists the force of the 

 fingers; and when the bird is twelve months old, the organ has acquired its 

 permanent bony hardness. On measuring the bill of a young bird of this 

 species not long able to fly, and that of an adult bird, I found the former 

 seven-eighths of an inch longer than the latter. This difference I have 

 represented in the plate. It is also curious to observe, that the young birds 

 of this family, which have the bill tender, either search for larvae in the 

 most decayed or rotten stumps and trunks of trees, or hunt the deserted old 

 fields, in search of blackberries and other fruits, as if sensible of their inapti- 

 tude for attacking the bark of sound trees or the wood itself. 



This handsome species inhabits the Oregon territory about the Columbia 

 river, whence I have procured specimens from Mr. Townsend. According 

 to Dr. Richardson, it is a constant resident in the interior of the Fur 

 Countries, up to the 62nd or 63d parallel, rarely appearing near Hudson's 

 Bay, but frequenting the most gloomy recesses of the forests that skirt the 

 Rocky Mountains. I found it more abundant in the Texas than any where 

 else, and whilst on Galveston Island, saw one tapping against the roof of a 

 house, the first and only instance of so much familiarity in a bird of this 



