148 Land Birds of New England 



any woods, clinging against the trunks, and hammer- 

 ing away as it drills a hole into the tree in search 

 of the insect larvae which form its food. During 

 this operation, it supports itself not only by its feet, 

 but by the pointed tips of its tail feathers, which it 

 sticks into roughnesses of the bark. Owing to this 

 structure of the tail, the bird never runs down a 

 trunk like the nuthatches, but always up. It spends 

 the year with us, but is more common in the fall 

 and winter, as it breeds only locally in southern 

 New England. 



The nest is a hole excavated usually in a trunk of 

 a tree, either in orchards or in woodlands. Eggs 

 are laid about the middle of May. 



The bird is usually silent, so far as any call is 

 concerned, though the wood may ring with his ham- 

 mering; the voice is, however, said to be loud and 

 harsh. 



