Woodpecker, Ivory-billed bird pictures

Woodpecker, Ivory-billed bird picturesIVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER
392. Campephilus principalis. 20 inches

Male with a scarlet crest, female with a black one.

These are the largest and most rare of the Woodpeckers found within the borders of the United States.

Their decline in numbers is due, to a certain extent, to the killing of them because of their size and beauty, but chiefly on account of cutting off of a great deal of the heavy timber where they nest.

They are very powerful birds and often scale the bark off the greater portion of a tree in search for insects and grubs, while they will bore into the heart of a living tree to make their home.

Note. - A shrill two-syllabled shriek or whistle.

Nest. - In holes of large trees in impenetrable swamps. On the chips at the bottom of the cavity they lay from three to six glossy, pure white eggs (1.45 x 1.00).

Range. - Formerly the South Atlantic States and west to Texas and Indian Territory, but now confined to a few isolated portions of Florida and, possibly, Indian Territory.