596 



ORNITHOLOGY. 



Scansores. America, are such stupid, forlorn, dejected, and unprovid- 

 v "— — v~-' ed-for beings, as they have hitherto been represented." ' 

 The other species to which we have above alluded is 

 the beautiful ivory-billed woodpecker (Picus principalis, 

 Linn.), of which the broad extent of dark and glossy plu- 

 mage, with the well-defined snowy markings of the neck 

 and wings, relieved by the rich tracery of the carmine crest, 

 and brilliant yellow eye, in someway so reminded the en- 

 thusiastic Audubon of the noble productions of a great 

 Flemish painter, that whenever he saw one of these gor- 

 geous birds flying from tree to tree, he would exclaim, 

 " There goes a Vandyke." The ivory-billed woodpecker 

 confines its rambles to a comparatively small portion of the 

 United States, and is never observed in the middle por- 

 tions of the Union, where the nature of the wood does not 

 appear to suit its habits. " Descending the Ohio," says 

 Mr Audubon, " we meet with this splendid bird for the 

 first time near the confluence of that beautiful river and 

 the Mississippi ; after which, following the windings of the 

 latter, either downwards towards the sea, or upwards in 

 the direction of the Missouri, we frequently observe it. 

 On the Atlantic coast, North Carolina may be taken as 

 the limits of its distribution, although now and then an in- 

 dividual of the species may be accidentally seen in Mary- 

 land. To the westward of the Mississippi, it is found in 

 all the dense forests bordering the streams which empty 

 their waters into that majestic river from the declivities of 

 the Rocky Mountains. The lower parts of the Carolinas, 

 Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi, are how- 

 ever the most favourite resorts of this bird, and in those 

 states it constantly resides, breeds, and passes a life of 

 peaceful enjoyment, finding a profusion of food in all the 

 deep, dark, and gloomy swamps dispersed throughout them. 

 I wish, kind reader, it were in my power to present to 

 your mind's eye the favourite resort of the ivory-billed 

 woodpecker. Would that I could describe the extent of 

 those deep morasses, overshadowed by millions of dark 

 gigantic cypresses, spreading their sturdy moss-covered 

 branches, as if to admonish intruding man to pause and 

 reflect on the many difficulties which he must encounter 

 should he persist in venturing farther into their almost in- 

 accessible recesses, extending for miles before him, where 

 he would be interrupted by huge projecting branches, here 

 and there the massy trunk of a fallen and decaying tree, 

 and thousands of creeping and twining plants of number- 

 less species ! Would that I could represent to you the 

 dangerous nature of the ground, its oozing, spongy, and 

 miry disposition, although covered with a beautiful but 

 treacherous carpeting, composed of the richest mosses, 

 flags, and water-lilies, no sooner receiving the pressure of 

 the foot than it yields, and endangers the very life of the 

 adventurer, whilst here and there, as he approaches an 

 opening, that proves merely a lake of black, muddy water, 

 his ear is assailed by the dismal croaking of innumerable 

 frogs, the hissing of serpents, or the bellowing of alligators ! 

 Would that I could give you an idea of the sultry pesti- 

 ferous atmosphere, that nearly suffocates the intruder dur- 

 ing the meridian heat of our dogdays, in those gloomy and 

 horrible swamps ! But the attempt to picture these scenes 

 would be vain. Nothing short of ocular demonstration can 

 impress any adequate idea of them. 



" The flight of this bird is graceful in the extreme, 

 although seldom prolonged to more than a few hundred 

 yards at a time, unless when it has to cross a large river, 

 which it does in deep undulations, opening its wings at 

 first to their full extent, and nearly closing them to re- 

 new the propelling impulse. The transit from one tree 

 to another, even should the distance be as much as a hun- 

 dred yards, is performed by a single sweep, and the bird 



appears as if merely swinging itself from the top of the Scansores. 

 one tree to that of the other, forming an elegantly curved *"*— v—— ' 

 line. At this moment all the beauty of the plumage is ex- 

 hibited, and strikes the beholder with pleasure. It never 

 utters any sound whilst on wing, unless during the love 

 season ; but at all other times, no sooner has this bird 

 alighted, than its remarkable voice is heard, at almost 

 every leap which it makes, whilst ascending against the 

 upper parts of the trunk of a tree, or its highest branches. 

 Its notes are clear, loud, and yet rather plaintive. They 

 are heard at a considerable distance, perhaps half a mile, 

 and resemble the false high note of a clarionet. They 

 are usually repeated three times in succession, and may 

 be represented by the monosyllable, pait, pail, pait. These 

 are heard so frequently, as to induce me to say that the 

 bird spends few minutes of the day without uttering them ; 

 and this circumstance leads to its destruction, which is 

 aimed at, not because (as is supposed by some) this spe- 

 cies is a destroyer of trees, but more because it is a beau- 

 tiful bird, and its rich scalp, attached to the upper man- 

 dible, forms an ornament for the war-dress of most of our 

 Indians, or for the short pouch of our squatters and hunt- 

 ers, by all of whom the bird is shot merely for that pur- 

 pose. 



" Travellers of all nations are also fond of possessing 

 the upper part of the head and the bill of the male ; and 

 I have frequently remarked, that on a steam-boat's reach- 

 ing what we call a xoooding-pluce, the strangers were very 

 apt to pay a quarter of a dollar for two or three heads of 

 this woodpecker. I have seen entire belts of Indian chiefs 

 closely ornamented with the tufts and bills of this species, 

 and have observed that a great value is frequently put 

 upon them. The food of this species consists principally 

 of beetles, larvae, and large grubs. No sooner, however, 

 are the grapes of our forests ripe, than they are eaten by 

 the ivory-billed woodpecker with great avidity. I have 

 seen this bird hang by its claws to the vines, in the posi- 

 tion so often assumed by a tit-mouse, and, reaching down- 

 wards, help itself to a bunch of grapes with much apparent 

 pleasure. Persimons are also sought for by them, as soon 

 as the fruit becomes quite mellow, as are hag-berries. The 

 ivory-bill is never seen attacking the corn, or the fruit of 

 the orchards, although it is sometimes observed working 

 upon and chipping off the bark from the belted trees of the 

 newly-cleared plantations. It seldom comes near the 

 ground, but prefers at all times the tops of the tallest trees. 

 Should it, however, discover the half-standing broken 

 shaft of a large dead and rotten tree, it attacks it in such 

 a manner as nearly to demolish it in the course of a few 

 days. I have seen the remains of some of these ancient 

 monarchs of our forests so excavated, and that so singu- 

 larly, that the tottering fragments of the trunk appeared 

 to be merely supported by the great pile of chips by 

 which its base was surrounded. The strength of this 

 woodpecker is such that I have seen it detach pieces of 

 bark seven or eight inches in length at a single blow of its 

 powerful bill, and by beginning at the top branch of a 

 dead tree, tear off the bark, to an extent of twenty or 

 thirty feet, in the course of a few hours, leaping down- 

 wards with its body in an upward position, tossing its head 

 to the right and left, or leaning it against the bark to as- 

 certain the precise spot where the grubs were concealed, 

 and immediately after renewing its blows with fresh vi- 

 gour, all the while sounding its loud notes, as if highly 

 delighted. 



" When wounded and brought to the ground, the ivory- 

 bill immediately makes for the nearest tree, and ascends 

 it with great rapidity and perseverance, until it reaches 

 the top branches, when it squats and hides, generally with 



Ornithological Biography, voi. i. p. 191. 



