204 TWO LITTLE DRUMMERS. 



uttering his loud iiiournful cry, which, though 

 an apparent wail, was evidently not inspired by 

 sadness. Alighting near the foot of a tree- 

 trunk, with many repetitions of his complain- 

 ing note, he gayly bobbed his way up the bark 

 highway as if it were a ladder. When he 

 reached the branches, he flew to another tree. 

 This bird's custom of delivering his striking call 

 as he approached and mounted a tree not far 

 from his "food tree" may be a newly acquired 

 habit ; for Dr. Merriam, who observed this spe- 

 cies ten years ago on the same place, says that 

 he "never heard a note of any description from 

 them, either while in the neighborhood of these 

 trees, or in flying to and fro between them and 

 the forests." On his o^vn trees the sapsucker 

 was not in such haste, but lingered about the 

 prepared rings, evidently taking his pick of the 

 insects attracted there. 



The array of traps prepared for the wood- 

 pecker's use was most curious, and readily ex- 

 plained how he came by his name. The clever 

 little workman had selected for his purpose two 

 trees. One was a large elm, and around its 

 trunk, about fifteen feet from the ground, he 

 had laboriously cut with his sharp beak several 

 rings of cups. These receptacles were some- 

 what less than half an inch in diameter, and 

 nearly their own width apart, and the rings en- 



