16 
IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER. 
So little attention do the people of the countries where these 
birds inhabit, pay to the minutiae of natural history, that, 
generally speaking, they make no distinction between the 
were thus busily employed in forming their nest, and by resting my head against 
the bark, could easily distinguish every blow given by the bird. I observed 
that in two instances, when tbe Woodpeckers saw me thus at the foot of the 
tree in which they were digging their nest, they abandoned it for ever. For 
the first brood there are generally six eggs. They are deposited on a few chips 
at the bottom of the hole, and are of a pure white colour. The young are seen 
creeping out of the hole about a fortnight before they venture to fly to any 
other tree. The second brood makes its appearance about the 15th of 
August. 
“ In Kentucky and Indiana, the Ivory-bills seldom raise more than one brood 
in the season. The young are at first of the colour of the female, only that 
they want the crest, which, however, grows rapidly, and towards autumn — parti- 
cularly in birds of the first breed — is nearly equal to that of the mother. The 
males have then a slight line of red on the head, and do not attain their richness 
of plumage until spring, or their full size until the second year. Indeed, even 
then, a difference is easily observed between them and individuals which are 
much older. 
“ The food of this species consists principally of beetles, larvae, and large 
grubs. No sooner, however, are the grapes of our forests ripe than they are 
eaten by the Ivory-billed Woodpecker with great avidity. I have seen this 
bird hang by its claws to the vines, in the position so often assumed by a 
Titmouse, and reaching downwards, help itself to a bunch of grapes with much 
apparent pleasure. Persimmons are also sought for by them, as soon as the fruit 
becomes quite mellow, as are hagberries. 
“ The Ivory-bill is never seen attacking the corn, or the fruit of the orch- 
ards, although it is sometimes observed working upon and chipping off the bark 
from the belted trees of the newly cleared plantations. It seldom comes near 
the ground, but prefers at all times the tops of the tallest trees. Should it, 
however, discover the half-standing broken shaft of a large dead and rotten 
tree, it attacks it in such a manner as nearly to demolish it in the course of a 
few days. I have seen the remains of some of these ancient monarchs of our 
forests so excavated, and that so singularly, that the tottering fragments of the 
trunk appeared to be merely supported by the great pile of chips by which its 
base was surrounded. The strength of this Woodpecker is such, that I have 
seen it detach pieces of bark seven or eight inches in length at a single blow of 
its powerful bill, and by beginning at tbe top branch of a dead tree, tear off the 
bark, to an extent of twenty or thirty feet, in the course of a few hours, leap- 
ing downwards, with its body in an upward position, tossing its head to the 
right and left, or leaning it against the bark to ascertain the precise spot where 
3 
