Species VII. PICUS PUBESCENS. 
DOWNY WOODPECKEE. 
[Plate IX. Fig. 4.] 
Picus pubescens, Linn. Si/sf. i., 175, 15. — Gmel. Si/st. i., 435. — Pe/it Pic varie de 
Virginie, Buffon, vii., 76. — Smallest Woodpecker, Catesb. i., 21. — Arct. Zool. 
II., No. lQ5.~Litae Woodpeclier, Lath. Syn. ii., 573, 19. Id. Sup. 109. 
This is the smallest of our Woodpeckers, and so exactly resembles 
the former in its tints and markings, and in almost everything, except 
its diminutive size, that I wonder how it passed through the Count de 
Buffon's hands, Avithout being branded as " a spurious race, degenerated 
by the influence of food, climate, or some unknown cause." But though 
it has escaped this infamy, charges of a much more heinous nature have 
been brought against it, not only by the writer above-mentioned, but by 
the whole venerable body of zoologists in Europe, who have treated 
of its history, viz. that it is almost constantly boring and digging into 
apple-trees ; and that it is the most destructive of its whole genus to 
the orchards. The first part of this charge I shall not pretend to deny ; 
how far the other is founded in truth will appear in the sequel. Like 
the two former species, it remains with us the whole year. About the 
middle of May, the male and female look out for a suitable place for 
the reception of their eggs and young. An apjjle, pear or cherry tree, 
often in the near neighborhood of the farm-house, is generally pitched 
upon for this purpose. The tree is minutely reconnoitred for several 
days, previous to the operation, and the work is first begun by the male, 
who cuts out a hole in the solid wood, as circular as if described with a 
pair of compasses. He is occasionally relieved by the female, both 
parties working Avith the most indefatigable diligence. The direction 
of the hole, if made in the body of the tree, is generally downwards, 
by an angle of thirty or forty degrees, for the distance of six or eight 
inches, and then straight down for ten or twelve more ; Avithin roomy, 
capacious, and as smooth as if polished by the cabinet-maker ; but the 
entrance is judiciously left just so large as to admit the body of the 
owner. During this labor, they regularly carry out the chips, often 
strewing them at a distance to prevent suspicion. This operation some- 
times occupies the chief part of a week. Before she begins to lay, the 
female often visits the place, passes out and in, examines every part, 
both of the exterior and interior, with great attention, as every pru- 
(183) 
