Conspicuously Black and White 



which hide beneath the bark, and with this end in view, the bird 

 is seen clinging to the trunks and branches of trees through fair 

 and wintry weather, industriously scanning every inch for the 

 well-known signs of the boring worm or destructive fly. 



In the autumn the male begins to excavate his winter quar- 

 ters, carrying or throwing out the chips, by which this good 

 workman is known, with his beak, while the female may make 

 herself cosey or not, as she chooses, in an abandoned hole. About 

 her comfort he seems shamefully unconcerned. Intent only on 

 his own, he drills a perfectly round hole, usually on the under 

 side of a limb where neither snow nor wind can harm him, and 

 digs out a horizontal tunnel in the dry, brittle wood in the very 

 heart of the tree, before turning downward into the deep, pear- 

 shaped chamber, where he lives in selfish solitude. But when the 

 nesting season comes, how devoted he is temporarily to the mate 

 he has neglected and even abused through the winter ! Will she 

 never learn that after her clear-white eggs are laid and her brood 

 raised he will relapse into the savage and forget all his tender 

 wiles ? 



The hairy woodpecker, like many another bird and beast, fur- 

 nishes much doubtful weather lore for credulous and inexact ob- 

 servers. " When the woodpecker pecks low on the trees, expect 

 warm weather" is a common saying, but when different individ- 

 uals are seen pecking at the same time, one but a few feet from 

 the ground, and another among the high branches, one may 

 make the prophecy that pleases him best. 



The hairy woodpeckers love the deep woods. They are 

 drummers, not singers; but when walking in the desolate winter 

 woods even the drumming and tapping of the busy feathered 

 workmen on a resonant limb is a solace, giving a sense of life and 

 cheerful activity which is invigorating. 



The Downy Woodpecker 



(Dryobates pubescens) Woodpecker family 



Length 6 to 7 inches. About the size of the English sparrow. 



Male Black above, striped with white. Tail shaped like a wedge. 



Outer tail feathers white, and barred with black. Middle tail 



feathers black. A black stripe on top of head, and distinct 



white band over and under the eyes. Red patch on upper 



55 



