18 



HAIRY WOODPECKER. 



the wing, and only one wing is broken, as soon as he drops to the 

 ground he makes for the nearest tree and climbs on it high enough 

 to be out of reach. When wounded, and lying on the ground, he 

 strikes with great fierceness at the hand stretched out to seize him. 

 He is one of the few birds that are never content when caged or 

 confined. 



This bird is now in one part of his district and then directly in 

 another part, roaming through the whole of it in an incredibly short 

 time. In the course of a few minutes, his cries are heard in differ- 

 ent places, remote from each other. He utters three principal 

 cries — two in flying, and the other when sitting or climbing : the 

 former sounding like " Kerr, Kerr," and " Kleeck, Kleeck;" the 

 latter like "Kluh," lengthened out and penetrating, or like "Kleha, 

 Kleha." Besides these cries he has several others, which he utters 

 for the most part when near his nest. His flight is different from 

 that of other Woodpeckers. He does not, like them, fly by starts, 

 or in alternately ascending and descending lines, but wavelike for- 

 ward in a straight direction, spreading his wings far apart and strik- 

 ing the air hard, so that the points of the larger quills appear to be 

 bending upward, causing his flight to resemble that of the Jay. It 

 is, however, more gentle than that of the other Woodpeckers, and 

 seems to require less exertion. The distinct whirr which we hear 

 in their flight, we do not hear in his. Although he seems averse to 

 long flights, he has been observed flying directly forward, without 

 stopping, for the distance of about half a mile. He hops rather 

 awkwardly on the ground, where he is frequently seen examining 

 the ant-hills in quest of the larvae or eggs, of which he seems to be 

 extremely fond. In climbing, and boring with his chisel-like bill, he 

 is very expert. When he climbs, he puts both feet forward like all 

 other Woodpeckers. He may therefore be said to hop up the trees, 

 and this he does with great force, so that one can distinctly hear his 

 claws striking into the bark. While climbing he keeps his breast 

 away from the trunk, bending his neck backward. 



His food consists of ants and their larvae, which he picks up 

 with his sticky tongue. He also devours the larvae of beetles found 

 in pine forests, and to get at them he chisels large holes in the 

 trees. The mating season of these birds is in April, early or late, 

 according to the season. The male at that period flies after the 

 female, crying aloud, and coming up to her, or becoming tired of 

 flying after her, he alights on the withered top of a tree and begins 

 to drum. He chooses on the tree a place where the beating of his 

 bill will resound the loudest. Pressing his tail hard against a dead 

 limb, he raps so quickly and forcibly upon it with his bill, that the 

 noise made sounds like a continued " Er-r-r-r-r-r-r." The rapid 

 motion of the red top on his head appears like a glowing spark on 

 the end of a burning stick, moved quickly to and fro. The 

 female makes her appearance after the drumming, or sometimes 

 answers by quickly repeated " Kluck, Kluck, Kluck." The 

 male also keeps up his drumming while the female is sitting on 

 the eggs. 



For their nests these birds seek a decayed or hollow tree, choos- 

 ing a knot-hole for the entrance. This hole is widened by the 

 female, so as to make it sufficiently large for going in and out with 

 ease. The inner part of the tree is then hollowed out with pecu- 

 liar dexterity. This process seems to be very difficult for the female, 

 as there is not room enough for working with her bill. The sounds 

 made are very dull, the chips small, and the work progresses 

 slowly ; but as soon as she has gained more room, she is enabled 

 to dig out larger chips, and the work goes on more rapidly. Chips 

 have been found under a tree where she was at work, from four to 

 five inches long and half an inch in breadth and thickness. The 

 female only works in the forenoon, going out in the afternoon after 

 food. After laboring hard from ten to sixteen days, she has the 

 nesting-place prepared. It is from fifteen to twenty inches deep 

 and from eight to ten inches in diameter, the sides being very 

 smooth, and the bottom bowl-shaped and covered with fine chips. 

 On these chips the female lays three, four, and sometimes five eggs, 

 which are rather small and of a brilliant white color, looking like 



enamel. The nest is usually built high up on a tree, generally on 

 a pine tree. 



The same nest is used for several years, but is usually cleaned 

 out and enlarged. The male assists the female in hatching, the fe- 

 male sitting on the eggs during the night and the early morning 

 hours. The newly hatched young are ill-shaped, being sparingly 

 covered on the upper part of the body with a grayish black down, 

 and the head being very large and the bill thick and clumsy. The 

 parents seem to be very fond of their young, and utter mournful 

 sounds when any one approaches the nest, and risk even their own 

 lives in defense of their brood. The young are fed from the crops of 

 the old birds, and their food consists chiefly of the so-called eggs 

 of the black ant. If not disturbed, they remain in the nest until 

 perfectly fledged ; but before that time they often climb up to the 

 entrance and take a look at the outside world. 



The Hairy Woodpecker. (Picus villosus.) 



Fig. 2. 



This species may be regarded as a true type of the Woodpeck- 

 ers (Pici). They are found almost exclusively on the trunks of 

 trees, and are seldom seen on the ground. They are resident 

 birds, and rarely missed in the orchards, where they are always 

 busily engaged in boring apple trees, eagerly hunting for insects, 

 their eggs or larvae, in old withered stumps, rotten branches, and 

 crevises of the bark. They inhabit North America from Hudson's 

 Bay to the Carolinas and Georgia. In May, this Woodpecker re- 

 tires to the groves and deeper forests with his mate to breed, though 

 they frequently choose the orchard for that purpose, and select a 

 suitable apple or pear tree. They seek a branch already hollow, 

 or dig out an opening for their nest. The nest has been found more 

 than four feet from the mouth of the hole. They dig first horizon- 

 tally, if in the trunk of a tree, for six or seven inches, and then ob- 

 liquely down for twelve or fifteen inches, carrying the chips out with 

 their bills or scraping them out with their feet. A nest is now made 

 with fine chips at the bottom of the hole. The female lays from 

 four to five bluish white eggs and hatches them out in June. Their 

 residence in summer is limited to a comparatively small extent of 

 country ; but in the fall and winter they roam about in a larger dis- 

 trict, and usually in company with Nuthatches, Creepers, Titmice, 

 and Golden-crested Wrens. In summer they never suffer another 

 bird of their kind to come within their district. They make their 

 appearance in a moment, as soon as they hear a knocking resem- 

 bling that of another Woodpecker. In their roamings they fly 

 chiefly from tree to tree, avoiding large open spaces. 



These Woodpeckers are lively, active, and daring. Their con- 

 trasted colors make them look beautiful, even when seen from a 

 distance, and especially when they are flying. It is a fine sight 

 when on a clear, sunny day they chase each other from tree to tree, 

 or climb swiftly up in the sunshine on the branches or the trunk of 

 a tree, or when they bask in the sunlight on the tops of high trees, 

 or on a withered limb execute their playful drumming. They are 

 almost constantly in motion, and enliven the forests, especially the 

 dark pine woods, in a most agreeable manner. Their flight is swift 

 and produces a humming ; but it is usually not far extended. They 

 rarely come down to the ground, but when on it, hop about with con- 

 siderable skill. They prefer to sit on the tops of the trees, repeating 

 their " pick, pick, pick," or " kick, kick, kick." Their sleeping- 

 places, like those of all Woodpeckers, are hollow trees, and to 

 these they retire when wounded. Such is their conduct toward 

 their own kind and toward other birds that they can not be called 

 sociable. They can be easily deceived by imitating their drum- 

 ming, especially in the spring-time, as at that time, besides their 

 desire for food, jealousy is brought into play. In summer, when 

 thus deceived, they appear close before you, climbing about on all 

 the branches to get a sight of the supposed rivals or intruders ; on 

 such occasions both the male and female make their appearance. 



