32 THE HAIRY WOODPECKER. 



a few large feathers from some water-fowl; they were 

 placed on the ground, under tussocks, in grassy hummocks. 

 The female did not leave the nest until nearly trodden upon." 

 Like the former, this bird occupies the Arctic regions of 

 both continents, migrating southward in winter, even to 

 warm-temperate latitudes, though the Longspur is not com- 

 mon even then in this locality, and is not yet reported west 

 of the Rocky Mountains. 



THE HAIRY WOODPECKER. 



^'' Fifnp ! punp ! pimp ! '' with a sharp, metallic ring. Who 

 does not know the voice of the Hairy Woodpecker? — sim- 

 ilar, somewhat, and yet very unlike that of other members 

 of the family. Its vigorous and incisive tones are asso- 

 ciated with the sounds of my childhood. Well do I remem- 

 ber its nest, commonly chiseled out of the American aspen, 

 so soft and brittle, the nest being made in a large, living 

 tree, and many feet from the ground. What gems were the 

 ovate, smooth eggs, some .98 x •'^2, of translucent white; and 

 how hard it seemed for the tender, unfledged young to lie 

 on a mere bed of chips ! Certain it is, however, that what 

 may be lacking in luxury is made up in safety. What Blue 

 Jay, Crow, Hawk or Owl would think of putting its head 

 into that small, neat, round doorway ? Even a Raccoon 

 would fare no better than Reynard, when the fabled Stork 

 invited him to dinner; and what snake would think of 

 wriggling up that straight and limbless trunk, some thirty 

 feet or upwards ? The male, moreover, is a very hero in 

 defense of its nest, flying angrily from tree to tree in the 

 immediate vicinity when it is disturbed, and uttering an 

 almost deafening racket of rage. 



The Hairy Woodpecker {Picus villosus) is 8.50-9.00 in 

 length, plumage soft and blended on the back, appearing 



