I have rarely seen a nesting bird so alert and keen of hearing as was this _Picoides_. The sound of our voices or the slightest noise made by an oar or paddle would bring him at once to the entrance of the hole, even when we were forty or fifty yards away, and every few minutes when we were sitting perfectly still he would look out turning his head in every direction. He would not leave the hole, however, until we were within a few yards of the foot of the tree and after he had drummed awhile he would return to the stub while we were sitting near its base with the camera directed towards it. * * * On returning to the stub the bird would usually strike against it about two feet below the hole and reaching it by two or three quick, upward hops would cling to its lower edge, alternately looking in and down at us. * * * He did not once enter the nest while we were near the tree, nor did he again attempt to mislead us by pecking at the bark, evidently realizing that this ruse had failed. When he flew back into the woods he always took one of two courses and along each he invariably alighted not only on the same trees but on the same spot on each tree. He had one particular place on the trunk of a large spruce where he would spend ten or fifteen minutes at a time pluming himself and watching us, before returning to the nest. Major Bendire (1895) quotes the following from Dr. C. Hart Merriam: We had just crossed the boundary line between Lewis and Herkimer counties, when Mr. Bagg called my attention to a “fresh hole,” about 8 feet from the ground, in a spruce tree near by. On approaching the tree a yellow crown appeared in the hole, showing that the male bird was “at home.” To prevent his escape I jumped toward the tree and introduced three fingers, which were immediately punctured in a manner so distasteful to their proprietor as to necessitate an immediate withdrawal and exchange for the muzzle of my friend’s gun. A handkerchief was next crowded into the hole, but was instantly riddled and driven out by a few blows from his terrible bill. It was then held loosely over the hole, and as the bird emerged I secured and killed him.