Family Picida- -Hairy Woodpecker 147 



It is to this little fellow that we are indebted for 

 the regular rows of small holes which so often mark 

 our apple-trees. They are drilled as a necessary 

 means of obtaining the insect grubs and larvae 

 which burrow beneath the bark, and which form 

 a large item in his bill of fare. 



The nest is a hole excavated in a tree, or rarely in 

 a post. Apple, birch, and poplar trees are favor- 

 ites. Eggs are laid about the end of May. Accord- 

 ing to Minot, "The ordinary note is a chink or chick, 

 which they most often utter on alighting on some 

 tree or fence. Occasionally they repeat this rapidly 

 (as chick- a-chick-chick chick-chick)." 



84. HAIRY WOODPECKER 

 (Dryobates i>illosns.~) 



Male : upper parts in the main blackish brown, barred and spotted 

 with white ; back black, with broad white band down the mid- 

 dle ; head black, with white band above the eye and another 

 below it ; back of head with scarlet patch ; outer tail feathers 

 white; under parts white. Beak strong and dark; feet dark, 

 two toes turned back and two forward. Bird nearly as large 

 as a robin. Female : similar, but without the scarlet patch. 



THIS bird is one of our rarer woodpeckers, and 

 is less often seen than the downy, not only because 

 it is less common, but also because it is more in- 

 clined to keep in the woods. It may be found in 



