MY WINTER COMPANIONS. 25 



his striped suit of black and white and his 

 brilliant red cap — a genuine drum major. This 

 has been the first winter I have seen him here 

 in central Ohio, although he is a regular spring 

 and fall migrant. But the curious thing about 

 his conduct was that he was here in the early 

 part of the winter, and then disappeared for fully 

 a month during the extremely cold weather ; but 

 by the last of January he returned, and was as 

 pert and as much at home as if he had not 

 gone away at all. Then he went off on another 

 jaunt — at least he could not be found in the 

 woods, search as I would — and after a week or 

 so of absence returned again. It is a puzzling 

 question whither he had gone. Did he make a 

 trip farther south to a more friendly climate ? 

 or did he merely fly to some other w^oodland 

 where food was more abundant ? or could it be 

 that he had only concealed himself in my own 

 woods, so that I could not find him ? You see 

 how many problems bird study presents that it 

 is impossible to solve. 



Among the many young people who have 

 ^vl4tten to me about birds is a bright girl in 

 southern Michigan. When I expressed sur- 

 prise that the red-breasted w^oodpecker, or 

 "zebra bird," as he is frequently called, was 

 wintering in my neighborhood, she at once 



