38 OUR WINTER BIRDS 



by the way, but probably all the time he Is listening 

 for the borer within. When he hears it he goes to 

 work in earnest. Without a pause he picks away 

 busily. The chips fly before the strokes from his 

 stout little chisel. In a surprisingly short time he 

 has made an opening two or three inches deep. At 

 the bottom of it lies the grub. Now Downy uses 

 his spear. This is nothing less than his tongue, 

 which Downy can thrust out an inch or more be- 

 yond the end of his bill. Its tip is horny, sharply 



A Woodpecker's Spear 

 '(Tip of Pileated Woodpecker's tongue, much enlarged) 



pointed, and barbed; just the kind of a weapon with 

 which to impale grubs and draw them from their 

 retreats. The grub captured. Downy sounds his 

 sharp call, as if in triumph, and perhaps follows it 

 with a short rolling rattle. Then he continues his 

 hunting. 



Downy uses his bill as a combined pick and chisel 

 not only to secure food, but also to provide a home 

 for himself and his family. Early in May he selects 

 a dead limb and makes a hole usually about fifteen 

 to twenty feet from the ground, just large enough to 

 enter. Then he hollows out a larger cavity within. 



