48



The Lady William Cecil,



NOTES ON SOME OF THE NORTH

AMERICAN WOODPECKERS.


By The Lady William Cecil

(B aroness Amherst of Hackney).


“ Pleasant it was when woods were green

And winds were soft and low ”


to rest in the shade and listen to the murmur of the woods, the

sweet, soft songs of the Warblers, and the “ thousand and one ” other

sounds of the forest world. Loud and persistent above all the music

is the tap-tap-tapping of the Woodpeckers as they hunt for insects,

or patiently drill and hammer at the excavations of their nest, or the

holes for secreting their hoards of nuts and acorns.


The Woodpeckers cannot boast of melodious voices, and

though varied, their call-notes are generally harsh and loud and

unmusical, while their love-songs are said to be the curious drumming

sound the male birds make on the stems of the trees.


In North America there are many varieties of these quaint

birds, so different from their perching, hopping, and running

neighbours ; for Woodpeckers are par excellence climbers, and are

oftenest seen on the stems or branches of trees, or flying from trunk

to trunk, though many of them feed on the ground-grubs and insects,

as well as those found on or under the bark of trees.


The Woodpecker family is a fairly numerous one, and its

members vary much in size, measuring from 6 or 7 in. to 25 in. in

length.


Among the small ones is the Downy Woodpecker (Picws

pubescens ), which is only about 6| in. in length. He has a striped

black and white back, a broad black band on his head, and a white

line under and over the eyes ; a black and white barred tail with

black middle feathers, and at the back of the head, above the neck,

a bright red band of rather hairy feathers ; his breast is white and

slightly fluffy and huiry; his black wings are barred with white.


The Downy Woodpecker is a most friendly little bird, often

leaving the woods for hedgerow trees and gardens, and even parks

and avenues in towns. He dearly loves the orchards, and busily



