A HEWER OF WOOD 85 



this feathered Nimrod battering at the walls of their 

 citadel ! 



No bird is better adapted than the woodpecker to the 

 work which nature has given him. He is a perfect 

 hunting machine, constructed for work in trees. Note 

 the ease with which he moves over the upright trunk. 

 His sharp claws can obtain a foothold on almost any 

 surface. I have seen a golden-backed woodpecker hunt- 

 ing insects on a smooth well-wheel ! 



His tail, which is short and composed of very stiff 

 feathers, acts almost like a third leg. The bristle-like 

 feathers stick in the crevices of the bark and enable the 

 bird to maintain his position while he hammers away 

 with might and main. His head is his hammer and his 

 beak his chisel. The chisel is fixed rigidly in the 

 hammer so that none of the force of the blow is lost. 

 It is exhilarating to watch a woodpecker at work. He 

 stands with his legs wide apart, the tip of his tail 

 pressed firmly against the bark, and puts all he knows 

 into each stroke, drawing his head back as far as it will 

 go and then letting drive. The manner in which his 

 strokes follow one another puts me in mind of the 

 clever way in which workmen drive an iron bar into a 

 macadamised road by raining upon it blows with sledge- 

 hammers. Almost before the hammer of the first striker 

 is off the head of the bar the second has struck it, this 

 is immediately followed by the hammer of the third, 

 then, without a pause, the first hammerer gets his 

 second blow home, and so they continue until a halt is 

 called. As a small boy I would stand for hours watch- 

 ing the operation. I am ashamed to do so now, so 



