122 HAIRY WOODPECKER. 



Downy Woodpecker: Dryobates piibesccns. 



Length nearly 7 inches. 



Upper parts black with a white stripe down the middle 

 of the back, and in the male, a scarlet band across the back 

 of the neck. 



Wings and tail black, thickly spotted with white; outer 

 tail-feathers white, barred with black. 



Resident (common) all the y?.ar. 



The Downy is our smallest and commonest Wood- 

 pecker, and is likely to be seen wherever there are old 

 trees', even about those of our lawns and gardens. In 

 spring he is a persistent drummer, and beats his roll- 

 ing tattoo on a dead limb or a tin roof with equal 

 energy and satisfaction to himself. He frequently 

 calls out peck, peck, and gives besides a harsh trill 

 which he probably intends for a song. When nesting 

 begins he is much more sedate and we hear only a 

 quiet tap, tap, tapping on the trees as he goes about 

 in search of food. He is a sociable fellow, and in 

 autumn often joins the cheery group of Chickadees, 

 Tufted Tits, and Nuthatches which roam our woods 

 through the winter. Mr. Chapman asks, '' Who can 

 estimate the enormous numbers of insects' eggs and 

 larvae which these patient explorers of twig and trunk 

 destroy? " 



Hairy ^A^oodpecker: Dryobates villosiis. 



The Hairy Woodpecker is hke the Downy except 

 that the outer tail-feathers are not barred with black, 

 and he is much larger, being nearly ten inches long. 

 He seldom nests here, but is not uncommon in spring 

 and autumn and is sometimes found in winter. 



