2 
Merriam on Birds of Lewis County, New York. 
Mr. William Brewster, that I omit all reference to their nidification, 
and will only mention such peculiarities of habit as have escaped 
the observation of others, or which, by their oddity, merit further 
notice. 
In few species can the date of arrival, in spring, be ascertained 
with such precision as in the bird now under consideration; for, no 
sooner are they here, and recovered from the fatigue of their north- 
ward journey, than the country fairly resounds with their cries and 
drumming. For two or three weeks after reaching us, and before 
the migrants have passed farther north, they are extremely abun- 
dant, and during this period behave in a very un-Woodpecker-like 
manner ; for, though less conspicuous in plumage, they are even 
more clamorous and more often seen than their Red-headed cousins. 
Noisy, rollicking fellows, they are always chasing one another 
among the trees, screaming meanwhile at the tops of their voices, 
and when three or four vociferous males alight on the same tree, as 
often happens, their boisterous cries are truly astonishing. But, not 
satisfied with these vocal manifestations of their din-making pro- 
clivities, and ever desirous of demonstrating their weakness in this 
direction, these indefatigable creatures take special delight in 
pounding upon any hard resonant substance which chance may 
have thrown in their way, and are never more happy than when 
they discover some tin-roofed dwelling on which to drum. At this 
season scarcely an hour passes, from daylight till sunset, that one 
or more cannot be heard drumming with commendable persever- 
ance upon the tin roofs, eave-troughs, or escape-pipes of our house or 
some of the out-buildings. They strike the tin violently half a 
dozen or more times, evidently enjoying the sound thus produced, 
and then rest a few minutes before repeating the performance. 
Each Woodpecker usually returns to the same spot, and on our 
roof are several patches, the size of one’s hand, from which the 
paint has been entirely drummed off. On the es.cape-pipe they 
sometimes follow around a joint, and by constant and long-contin- 
ued pounding so loosen the solder that the dependent portion of 
the pipe falls down. How they manage to cling to these vertical 
pipes and the nearly perpendicular portions of the roof is a mystery 
to me. I have seen both sexes at work on our roof, but the female 
does not often indulge in this pastime, and is rarely obseived to take 
part in the boisterous gambols of the males. In the groves and 
forests, where tin-roofed buildings do not abound, the Yellow-bellied 
