A JOLLY RED-HEAD. 125 



should go. I have known him to drill his nest in 

 a fence-stake, while the telegraph poles along the 

 railroad, although they must be hard and tough, 

 often afford him a nesting-place, and it is amusing 

 to see him bolt from his cavity whenever a train 

 dashes along. 



It is to be regretted that our bird has not a more 

 musical voice, and yet his well-known G-r-r-u-k^ 

 g-r-r-u-k and g-u-r-r-l^ g-u-r-r-l and kt-r-r, kt-r-r are 

 by no means disagreeable, but are suggestive of 

 the good-nature and buoyancy of spirit that ani- 

 mate his bosom. If he is not much of a vocalist, 

 he still seems to be a lover of music. Listen to 

 him as he plays a tune on ih^t shell-bark hickory- 

 tree, or beats his tattoo on the slate roof. He evi- 

 dently engages in this exercise, in part at least, 

 for the sake of the musical effect, else why should 

 he drum on the roof where no insects are to be 

 found, or upon an old tin pan that he has dis- 

 covered out on the commons ? 



There has been some dispute as to how he pro- 

 duces this quick succession of raps, several writers 

 contending that he does it by rapidly striking to- 

 gether his mandibles. This cannot be the true 

 explanation, for I have often watched him at his 

 rehearsals, and have always noticed that the sound 



