have heard this Woodpecker give three vocal songs or calls. One is an exultant, 

 ringing laugh given in high clear soprano. The first note and the last are lower 

 and less loud than the rest. At a distance this call sounds metallic ; but when at 

 close range it is sent echoing through the forest, it is full and clear, and is the most 

 untamably wild sound that I know among bird-notes. Another call might be sug- 

 gested by the syllables cozv-coiv-cozv repeated indefinitely, but some times inter- 

 mittently. When two birds approach each other they often carry on a wheedling 

 conversation which is not unpleasant to hear. It seems to be analogous to the 

 wicheiv note of the Flicker, but is given more slowly and has a peculiar quality 

 which would lead one to believe that the birds have their bills closed while making 

 the sound." 



In its search for food the Logcock strikes deliberately but with force, often 

 giving the head a powerful twist to wrench ofif a piece of wood. Sometimes quite 

 a large fragment is thrown back by a toss of the head. Much time is also spent 

 about fallen tree-trunks, where in addition to grubs and other insect larvae, it sub- 

 sists largely upon ants. 



The food of the Pileated Woodpecker does not interest the farmer or horti- 

 culturist, for it is obtained entirely from the forest or the wild copses on its edge. 

 This bird does not visit either the orchard or the grain field, and all its work in 

 the forest helps to conserve the timber. Unfortunately the bird is so scarce in 

 many places that it is an object of curiosity, and the man or boy with a gun never 

 lets pass a chance to shoot one, although its flesh is unfit for food. In fall and 

 winter it may often be seen in the market in Washington, and probably in cities 

 farther south. Maj. Bendire relates that once when short of provisions he at- 

 tempted to eat one, but found it extremely unpalatable. Its killing should be 

 strictly prohibited at all times. 



Woodpeckers signal each other by hammering upon a dead and hollow limb 

 or trunk of a tree, or upon the metallic cornice of a building. The pileated is an 

 adept at such telegraphing, and its tattoo on a particularly resonant piece of tim- 

 ber can be heard for more than a mile. 



663 



