IN THE ICE-CLAD WOODS. 159 



The conduct of tlie downy woodpeckers — 

 drum roajors of the woods — w^as odd. They 

 seemed to have a spite at the ice, for they 

 clung to the slender branches and hammered 

 away as if their life depended upon their ef- 

 forts, making the icy particles iiy in all direc- 

 tions. No ; they would not be outwitted by 

 the ice in that w^ay and cheated of their din- 

 ner, but wherever they could see a juicy grub 

 or bud beneath the crystal coating they would 

 chisel their way to it with their stout beaks. 

 Only once or twice they hammered on the 

 boles of the trees where there was no covering 

 of ice. 



These woodpeckers are very reckless tilters 

 and climbers, hurling themselves from tree to 

 tree with break-neck swiftness, very often as if 

 it mattered not where they alight. It was 

 quite amusing to watch them dash about and 

 attempt to catch with their claws at a slippery 

 limb, lose their hold, and then scramble wildly 

 for another perch. 



The next morning at nine o'clock the sky 

 cleared and the sun shone brightly. If you 

 could have seen the woods then, clad in gleam- 

 ing crystal, you would have clapped your 

 hands with delight. The various colors that 

 flashed from the icy knobs and prisms and 



