THE DOWNY WOODPECKER. 345 



No. 150. 



DOWNY WOODPECKER. 



A. O. U. No. 3940. Dryobates pubescens median us (Swains.). 



Description. Adult : A miniature of the preceding, and with the same 

 distinction between the sexes. In the present species the white of the nasal tufts 

 encroaches upon the forehead, and is continuous with the superciliary line; the 

 wing coverts are more numerously white-spotted ; and the outer tail-feathers are 

 barred with black; the under parts sometimes exhibit a faint buffy suffusion. 

 Length 6.25-7.00 (158.8-177.8); av. of five Columbus specimens: wing 3.75 

 (95.3) ; tail 2.57 (65.3) ; bill .66 (16.8). 



Recognition Marks. Sparrow size ; like preceding species but much smaller, 

 bill only a little more than half as long; pink or pimp note. 



Nest, in holes of rotten stubs or decayed limbs, unlined, usually at moderate 

 heights. Eggs, 4-6, white. Av. size, .75 x .59 (19.1 x 15.). 



General Range. Middle and northern portions of eastern United States and 

 northward. 



Range in Ohio. Common, about three to one of the preceding species. 

 Resident. 



DOWNY is one of the most familiar and confiding of birds. Almost 

 without suspicion, he is still full of curiosity, and is one of the first birds to 

 come up when the call of the Screech Owl is sounded by the bird-man. One 

 place is about as good as another for His trade, so when the Cardinals and 

 Juncoes have retired in disgust, having thoroughly exposed the shameless 

 trick, Downy still lingers, tapping industriously along the smaller branches 

 of some near-by tree, or studying the intruder through a maze of dreamy 

 content. This little Woodpecker is one of the most frequent visitors in 

 orchard and garden. He will begin at the bottom of an apple tree and work 

 around it, ascending spirally, and then follow out one branch after another, 

 until it would seem that he had exhausted about every possibility of insect-egg 

 or hidden worm in connection with that tree. The holes which he digs are 

 either prospect shafts or mining tunnels, whose sole object is the golden 

 worm. The little miner, therefore, does no injury to the live wood, and con- 

 fers incalculable benefits upon the orchard by the destruction of its real 

 enemies. 



Downy is one of the most devoted members of the winter troupe. His 

 loyalty to this organization is at times almost pathetic. When the bird-man 

 comes up, the Juncoes move away in a huffy manner; Major Titmouse 

 admonishes the younger members of the family to be on their guard; and 

 there is a general edging away that is not flattering to the visitor. The 

 Downy Woodpecker is the last to leave, and does so apologetically, as tho he 

 were chagrinned at the unexpected rudeness of his friends. Again, when the 

 Juncoes and the Goldfinches insist upon pushing out into the open, Downy 



