NESTLINGS OF FOREST AND MARSH 
The most dreaded of these enemies is the 
red-headed woodpecker. With  diabolic 
cunning he knows when the young are 
newly hatched. Clinging to the boards as 
to a tree-trunk, a few strokes of his beak 
suffice to crumble the nest, and snatching 
one of the helpless fledglings, this murderer 
of infants flies away. The other little ones 
fall to the ground, but he never picks up 
one. No; he opens a fresh nest and sacrifices 
another brood to finish his meal, while the 
hapless babies on the ground fall victims to 
chickens or pigs. 
The blue jay is, in this case, less destruc- 
tive, for he enlarges the original doorway 
of the nest and helps himself to the con- 
tents without wantonly murdering more 
than he requires to satisfy his needs. To 
his shame be it known that a single “red- 
head” has destroyed six broods of eave- 
swallows in one afternoon, and doubtless 
as many more on other occasions when no 
watcher was present to report. And yet 
he is not listed among the bird ogres. Are 
200 
Se. 
