Publications Received.
- Auk, April.
- Ornithologist and Oologist, March.
- West American Scientist, January.
- Oologists’ Exchange, March.
- Agassiz Companion, March.
- Hawkeye Ornithologist and Oologist, March, April.
The Pileated Woodpecker.
BY J. W. JACOBS, WAYNESBURG, PA.
On April 24th, I was passing through a large patch of woods, taking note of all the bird life I could see, when I noticed a large hole near the top of a “snag.” I went a little closer, and then I saw that the hole was too large for a Red-head (M. erythrocephalus) or a Flicker (C. auratus).
I went up to the tree; there was a great pile of chips on the ground; I hammered on the tree, and a Pileated Woodpecker (Hylotomus pileatus) flew out, I climbed up, but owing to the tree being high, smooth bark and no limbs at all, I could not stick, so I resolved to call again, better prepared for an attack on the tree.
On the 28th, I started out to procure the set of eggs, if there proved to be any in the nest. Everything went well until I reached the tree, and there I could see that the hand of destruction had visited H. pileatus, for the tree was stretched out upon the ground.
Two wood-choppers had been in the woods the day before, making rails; they saw the old bird fly from her nest, and of course, through curiosity, they cut the tree down to see what the eggs looked like. I found the pieces of three or four egg-shells, and probably there were more. I did not find out how many they broke.