4J(. TlIK C. AlKDNKk W ( K)|)l'ritKEK. 



'I'lll". Ic'ial ripiTsiiiiatisc "I llic w idcsprcatl Dnwin lypc is a ])t*rfect 

 iniiiiaturc of ilie mnre aluiiulant Harris \\i>i>(l|>i-ckfr, even in tlifjlit ami 

 voice: and to the same canses innst lie attriluited tlie soiling of a Ixsom 

 once immaculate. L'niike his greater double, however, (iairdner's Wood- 

 pecker is for the most part coutined to deciduous timber, and shows a great 

 preference for wooded bottoms and the Ijordcrs of streams. Here his 

 industrious tap, tap and ciiecry [^ink notes may be heard not alone from the 

 trunks of trees, but from the smaller l)ranches. These he traces to the 

 very end in a search for lurking grub or nit. 



The presence of this bird is a lienediction in an orchard, for he in- 

 spects every niche and crevice of a fruit tree, and if he finds deei)-seated 

 troubles, the holes he drives are as necessary as the |)hysician"s lancet. 

 Hut folks still call them "sapsuckers," and shoot their little benefactors. 

 Such people should be lined, for a first olTense; and the fine remitted only in 

 ca.se they agree to "read up." For a second otTense — Well, I believe in 

 capital punishment myself. 



The little Downies, strictly resitknt. as they are. wiierevcr found, are 

 not so hardly put to it to subsist in winter here as they are north .ind 

 east. If grubs are scarce there are always edible berries and seeds to fall 

 back on. \'el Ciairdners relish nuts or a bit of suet hung out in winter 

 time; and if the would-be patron be iii>t too eager in lirst ailvances a very 

 |)relty fricn(Wiip may be established in the course of a season. 



.\lso. because of the season's mildness, winter bird troujies arc not 

 such an important institution as in the frigid Kast. I*>ut wherever Kinglets, 

 luncoes. Creepers. Wrens, and Chickatlees do associate together for l)e- 

 nevolent otTense and defense, there is Downy in the midst, — and one can 

 liardlv help adding (the Master would be the last to forbid it) "and that 

 to bless." 



it is at times dit'ticult to distinguish, in the case of the f^inh notes and 

 the longer rattling call, between the voices of this binl and the Harris, 

 but the notes of the smaller bird are usually much less in volume and 

 strength, and have a rather more nasal quality. All Woodpeckers have 

 also a sort of signal system, or Morse code, consisting of sundry tattoos on 

 resonant wood. These calls are used princi])ally. or exclusively, during the 

 mating season, and consist, in the case of the (lairdner. of six or seven 

 taps in regular and moderate succession. The birds have favorite places 

 for the production of these sounds: an<l it is probable that birds are able 

 to distinguish their calling mates by the timbre of the smitten wood, as 

 well as by .some subtle variation of temi>o which escapes unfamiliar ears. 



C.airdners jdace their nests at inconsiderable heights in deciduous trees, 

 and tho.se. if possible, among thick growths on moist ground Both sexes 

 assist in excavation, as in incub.it ion. Tartiallv decayed wood is selected 



