Life histories of North American woodpeckersBent, Arthur Cleveland
Science
Life histories of North American woodpeckers
Bent, Arthur Cleveland
Birds -- North America; Woodpeckers -- North America
Our only observations were made In Florida about 6 a. m.,
on April 13, 1924. We had discovered this pair of ivorybills
at about the same time the preceding morning when they came
out of the cypress swamp and preened their feathers and
called a few times from the top of a dead pine before going
off together to feed. They had made such a long flight the
previous day that we were unable to find them again, but
that night, still traveling together, they had returned to
the same group of medium-sized cypress trees which they had
apparently left in the morning and in which there was one
fresh hole in addition to four or five other old ones in the
near vicinity. On the morning of the 13th, they called as
they left these cypress trees and flew to the top of a dead
pine at the edge of the swamp, where they called and
preened. Finally the female climbed up directly below the
male and when she approached him closely he bent his head
downward and clasped bills with her. The next instant they
both flew out on to the “burn,” where we followed their
feeding operations for about an hour.
_Nesting._--As before stated, while there are a few records of February
nesting, the most definite records are for March, April, and early May,
as follows:
April 6, ----. M. Thompson, Okefinokee swamp, Georgia. Laying.
April 9, 1892. E. A. McIlhenny, Avery swamp, Louisiana. Three fresh
eggs.
April 10, ----. Dr. S. W. Wilson, Altamaha swamp, Georgia. Four eggs.
April 15, 1893. A. Wayne, Florida. A young female about 2 weeks out
of the nest.
April 19, 1893. Ralph Collection, Lafayette County, Fla. Three eggs.
May 2, 1892. E. A. McIlhenny, Avery swamp, Louisiana. Three eggs.
May 19, 1892. E. A. McIlhenny, Avery swamp, Louisiana. Four eggs, a
second laying.
May (early) 1894. E. A. McIlhenny, Avery swamp., Louisiana. Five
young, 3 days old.
May 3, 1885. Capt. B. F. Goss, Jasper County, Tex. Three eggs.
July 1897. George G. Beyer, Franklin Parish, La.
March 4, 1904. Brown brothers (Hoyt), feeding young.
March 16, 1904. R. D. Hoyt, Taylor County, Fla. Large young.
March 4, 1905. E. D. Hoyt, Claremont County, Fla. Two eggs, incubation
advanced.
March 24, 1905. R. D. Hoyt, Claremont County, Fla. Two eggs slightly
incubated (second laying of the preceding).
April 13, 1924. A. A. Allen, Taylor Creek, Fla. Nest completed.
Incubation not yet started.
April (early) 1931. J. J. Kuhn, northern Louisiana. Incubating.
May 13, 1934. J. J. Kuhn, northern Louisiana. Probably small young.
April 6, 1935. A. A. Allen and P. P. Kellogg, northern Louisiana.
Incubating.
April 9, 1935. A. A. Allen and P. P. Kellogg, northern Louisiana.
Building.
April 25, 1935. A. A. Allen and P. P. Kellogg, northern Louisiana.
Incubating.
May 10, 1935. A. A. Allen and P. P. Kellogg, northern Louisiana.
Small young.
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