The IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER (_Campephilus principalis_) is also black; and
the centre as well as the hinder quills are white; the lower wing-covers
are striped with black; and the white lines on the shoulder extend to the
sides of the head. The eye is bright yellow, the beak as white as ivory,
and the foot greyish blue. This bird is twenty-one inches long, and thirty
broad; the wing measures ten inches and a half, and the tail seven inches
and a quarter.
The Imperial Woodpecker inhabits the mountain tracts of California, as
far as the boundaries of Mexico, whilst the Ivory-beak frequents the
forests that extend along the Mississippi to the Ohio. We are but little
acquainted with the habits of the first-mentioned bird, but are indebted
to Audubon for a most graphic description of the life and habits of the
Ivory-beak.
"The Ivory-billed Woodpecker," says that writer, "confines its rambles
to a comparatively small portion of the United States. Descending to
the Ohio, we met with this splendid bird for the first time near the
confluence of that river and the Mississippi; after which, following
the windings of the latter, either towards the sea or 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, though individuals
are occasionally seen in Maryland. To the west 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 part of the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana,
and Mississippi are, however, the favourite resorts of this bird; and in
these States it constantly resides, breeds, and passes a life of peaceful
enjoyment, finding a profusion of food in all the deep, dark, and gloomy
swamps dispersed over them. I wish, kind reader, that it were in my power
to present to your mind's eye the favourite resort of the Ivory-billed
Woodpecker. Would that I could describe the extent of those deep morasses,
overshadowed by millions of gigantic dark cypresses, spreading their
sturdy moss-covered branches as if to admonish intruding man to pause
and reflect on the many difficulties he must encounter should he persist
in venturing farther into their almost inaccessible recesses, extending
for miles before him, where he would be interrupted by huge projecting
branches, here and there the massive trunk of a fallen and decayed tree,
and thousands of creeping and twining plants of numberless species!
Would that I could represent to you the dangerous nature of the ground,
its oozing, spongy, miry condition, although covered with a beautiful,
but treacherous carpeting, composed of the richest mosses, flags, and
water-lilies, no sooner receiving the pressure of the foot than it yields,
and endangers the very life of the adventurer; whilst here and there,
as he approaches an opening that proves merely a lake of black, muddy
water, his ear is assailed by the dismal croaking of innumerable frogs,
the hissing of serpents, or the bellowing of alligators! Would that I
could give you an idea of the sultry, pestiferous atmosphere, that nearly
suffocates the intruder during the meridian heat, in those gloomy and
horrible swamps!
"The flight of the far-famed Ivory-billed Woodpecker is graceful in the
extreme, although seldom prolonged to more than a few hundred yards at a
time, unless when it has to cross a large river, which it does in deep
undulations, opening its wings at first to their full extent, and nearly
closing them to renew the propelling impulse. The transit from one tree
to another, even should the distance be as much as a hundred yards, is
performed by a single sweep; the bird appears as if merely swinging
itself from the top of the one tree to that of the other, forming an
elegantly-curved line. At this moment all the beauty of the plumage is
exhibited, and strikes the beholder with pleasure. It never utters any
sound whilst on the wing, except during the love season; but at all other
times no sooner has this bird alighted than its remarkable voice is heard
at almost every leap that it makes whilst ascending against the upper
parts of the trunk of a tree or its highest branches. Its notes are clear,
loud, and rather plaintive; they are heard at a considerable distance,
perhaps half a mile, and resemble the false, high note of a clarionet.
They are repeated three times in succession, and may be represented by the
syllables 'Pait, pait, pait.' These are heard so frequently that the bird
spends few minutes of the day without uttering them; and this leads to its
destruction, not because, as some suppose, this species is a destroyer of
trees, but because it is a beautiful bird, and the rich scales attached to
its upper mandible form an ornament for the war-dress of the Indians, or
for the shot-pouch of the hunter or squatter.
"The food of this species consists principally of beetles, larvæ, 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. This
bird seldom comes near the ground, but prefers the tops of the tallest
trees. Should it, however, discover the half-standing, broken shaft of a
large, dead 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 forest thus 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 beak; and by
beginning at the 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, leaping downwards
with its body in an upright position, tossing its head to the right
and left, or leaning it against the bark to ascertain the precise spot
where the grubs were concealed, and immediately after renewing its blows
with great vigour, all the while sounding its loud notes, as if highly
delighted. This species generally moves in pairs. The female is always the
most clamorous and the least shy. Their mutual attachment is, I believe,
continued through life. Except when digging a hole for the reception of
their eggs, these birds seldom, if ever, attack living trees for any other
purpose than that of procuring food, in doing which they destroy insects
that would otherwise prove injurious to the trees. I have frequently
observed the male and female retiring to rest for the night into the same
hole in which, long before, they had reared their young.
"The Ivory-billed Woodpecker nestles earlier than any other species of
its tribe. I have observed it boring for that purpose in the beginning of
March. The hole, I believe, is always made in the trunk of a live tree,
and at a great height. The birds pay great attention to the situation of
the tree and the inclination of its trunk, because they prefer retirement,
and because they are anxious to secure the aperture against the entrance
of water during beating rains; to prevent such a calamity, the hole is
generally dug immediately under the junction of a large branch with the
trunk. It is first bored horizontally for a few inches, and then directly
downwards. The average diameter of the different nests I have examined
was about seven inches within, although the entrance, which is perfectly
round, is only just large enough to admit the bird. Both birds work most
assiduously at this excavation, one waiting outside to encourage the
other whilst it is engaged in digging, and when the latter is engaged,
taking its place. 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 second brood makes its appearance about the tenth of
August."
[Illustration: IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER (_Campephilus principalis_).]
[Illustration: Plate 22. Cassell's Book of Birds