A Book on Birds 



Indeed he seems just built to brave the 

 elements — with his chunky, well-knit body, 

 big, comfortable wings, and thick coat of 

 feathers. Even without all these, however, 

 the amount of exercise he gets would of 

 itself keep him warm; for he is the 

 busiest and most energetic feeder in the 

 woods, and during the winter seems to 

 be eating simply all the time, working 

 away incessantly on tree trunks and 

 branches, with his tireless, red-tagged 

 hammer-head, at the rate of about fifty 

 pecks a minute. 



His color scheme, though only black and 

 white, saving the little patch of red just 

 mentioned, is nevertheless brilliant because 

 of its sharp contrasts — the broad, trans- 

 verse bars on the wings being especially 

 conspicuous and giving him a military air. 



As I take leave of him here, and the 

 others of this class who have long played 

 chief part in brightening things for me in 

 the open air while frost and snow prevail, 

 I am reminded that there are a few more 

 who, although not quite so sturdy and faith- 



[186] 



