IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER. 



15 



the male and female alternately, and in conjunction, dig out a 

 large and capacious cavity for their eggs and young. Trees 

 thus dug out have frequently been cut down, with sometimes 

 the eggs and young in them. This hole, according to infor- 

 mation, — for I have never seen one myself, — is generally a 

 little winding, the better to keep out the weather, and from 

 two to five feet deep. The eggs are said to be generally four, 

 sometimes five, as large as a pullet's, pure white, and equally 

 thick at both ends — a description that, except in size, very 

 nearly agrees with all the rest of our woodpeckers. The young 

 begin to be seen abroad about the middle of June. Whether 

 they breed more than once in the same season is uncertain .* 



* The description of the nestling, &c, is thus also given by Audubon. 

 Wilson observes, that he had no opportunity of ever seeing their holes, 

 and the following will tend to render his account more complete : — 



" The ivory-billed woodpecker nestles earlier in spring than any other 

 species of its tribe. I have observed it boring a hole for that purpose in 

 the beginning of March. The hole is, I believe, always made in the trunk 

 of a live tree, generally an ash or a hagberry, and is at a great height. 

 The birds pay great regard to the particular situation of the tree, and 

 the inclination of its trunk ; first, because they prefer retirement, and 

 again, because they are anxious to secure the aperture against the access 

 of water during beating rains. To prevent such a calamity, the hole is 

 generally dug immediately under the junction of a large branch with the 

 trunk. It is first bored horizontally for a few inches, then directly down- 

 wards, and not in a spiral manner, as some people have imagined. Ac- 

 cording to circumstances, this cavity is more or less deep, being some- 

 times not more than ten inches, whilst at other times it reaches nearly 

 three feet downwards into the core of the tree. I have been led to think 

 that these differences result from the more or less immediate necessity 

 under which the female may be of depositing her eggs, and again have 

 thought that the older the woodpecker is, the deeper does it make its 

 hole. The average diameter of the different nests which I have exa- 

 mined was about seven inches within, although the entrance, which is 

 perfectly round, is only just large enough to admit the bird. 



" Both birds work most assiduously at this excavation, one waiting 

 outside to encourage the other, whilst it is engaged in digging, and when 

 the latter is fatigued, taking its place. I have approached trees whilst 

 these woodpeckers were thus busily employed in forming their nest, and 

 by resting my head against the bark, could easily distinguish every blow 

 given by the bird. I observed that in two instances, when the wood- 



