THE DOWNY WOODPECKER 167 



ing her no rest for several days. She was evi- 

 dently trying to run her out of the neighbor- 

 hood. Now and then, she, too, would drum 

 briefly, as if sending a triumphant message to her 

 mate. 



The woodpeckers do not each have a particu- 

 lar dry limb to which they resort at all times to 

 drum, like the one I have described. The woods 

 are full of suitable branches, and they drum more 

 or less here and there as they are in quest of 

 food ; yet I am convinced each one has its fav- 

 orite spot, like the grouse, to which it resorts 

 especially in the morning. The sugar-maker in 

 the maple woods may notice that this sound pro- 

 ceeds from the same tree or trees about his camp 

 with great regularity. A woodpecker in my vi- 

 cinity has drummed for two seasons on a tele- 

 graph-pole, and he makes the wires and glass in- 

 sulators ring. Another drums on a thin board 

 on the end of a long grape-arbor, and on still 

 mornings can be heard a long distance. 



I watch these woodpeckers daily to see if I 

 can solve the mystery as to how they hop up and 

 down the trunks and branches without falling 

 away from them when they let go their hold. 

 They come down a limb or trunk backward by a 

 series of little hops, moving both feet together. 



