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THE IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER. 
Picus principalis, Linn . 
PLATE CCLVI. — Male and Females. 
I have always imagined, that in the plumage of the beautiful Ivory-billed 
Woodpecker, there is something very closely allied to the style of colouring 
of the great Vandyke. The broad extent of its dark glossy body and tail, 
the large and well-defined white markings of its wings, neck, and bill, 
relieved by the rich carmine of the pendent crest of the male, and the 
brilliant yellow of its eye, have never failed to remind me of some of the 
boldest and noblest productions of that inimitable artist’s pencil. So strongly 
indeed have these thoughts become ingrafted in my mind, as I gradually 
obtained a more intimate acquaintance with the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, 
that whenever I have observed one of these birds flying from one tree to 
another, I have mentally exclaimed, “There goes a Vandyke!” This 
notion may seem strange, perhaps ludicrous, to you, good reader, but I relate 
it as a fact, and whether or not it may be found in accordance with your own 
ideas, after you have inspected the plate in which is represented this splendid 
species of the Woodpecker tribe, is perhaps of little consequence. 
The Ivory-billed Woodpecker confines its rambles to a comparatively 
very small portion of the United States, it never having been observed in 
the Middle States within the memory of any person now living there. In 
fact, in no portion of these districts does the nature of the woods appear 
suitable to its remarkable habits. 
Descending the Ohio, we meet with this splendid bird for the first time 
near the confluence of that beautiful river and the Mississippi ; after which, 
following the windings of the latter, either downwards toward the sea, or 
upwards in the direction of the Missouri, we frequently observe it. On the 
Atlantic coast, North Carolina may be taken as the limit of its distribution, 
although now and then an individual of the species may be accidentallyseen 
in Maryland. To the westward of the Mississippi, it is found in all the 
dense forests bordering the streams which empty their waters into that 
majestic river, from the very declivities of the Rocky Mountains. The 
lower parts of the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi, 
are, however, the most favourite resorts of this bird, and in those States it 
constantly resides, breeds, and passes a life of peaceful enjoyment, finding 
