1902.
June 8
(no. 4)
be fully grown and feathered and their scarlet crests
were scarcely less full and brilliant than those of their parents.
Save when the latter were at or very near the nest the young
remained hidden within its inner recesses and profoundly silent.
As the older birds made no vocal sounds when approaching or
after reaching the hole we concluded that the young must
have been apprised of their arrival by hearing the rattle of
their claws on the outer surface of the stub. They evidently
went considerable distances through the surrounding woods in
quest of food and brought it in a macerated condition in
their gullets for we could see nothing whatever in their bills.
  I was impressed on this occasion - as I have been
many times before - by the striking beauty of the Pileated Wood-
pecker when at large in its native forests. It is, indeed, a truly
superb creature, of bold and dignified yet ever graceful bearing,
its every pose and movement stamped with the proud self-reliance
and superabundant energy and visibility which are evidently
among its chief characteristics. It is a true child of the
forest, shunning man and his works and absolutely unable or unwilling 
to adapt itself to the changed conditions which succeed the
felling of the primitive woods in which it makes its home.
In their deepest shade its brilliant scarlet crest glows
like a living coal, in the sunlight glistens and shimmers
like floss silk. The bird when living looks larger than it 
really is and on wing may be easily mistaken for a Crow
although its wing beats most nearly resemble those of the Blue Jay.
This, of course, can be said only of the level flight performed when
the bird is crossing a wide opening or on its way well above the
tree tops to some distant point. When moving among the trees
it either "gallops" like most woodpeckers or swings from trunk
to trunk in long, graceful loops without flapping at all.
9