FEATHERED ATHLETES 77 



plaintive note which is heard usually preceding a 

 storm, and is called his weather-prophet note. But 

 the sound for which he is most famed is his loud 

 rapping on dead trees. And this he does very 

 often to drive insects from their homes under the 

 bark. In the following lines to the woodpecker, 

 the poet gives us a true picture of him: 



"Hail to thee, woodpecker, clothed in green! 



How thy verdant mantle concealeth thee; 

 'Mid the waving foliage scarcely seen, 



As thou climbest the boughs of the forest-tree. 

 The theme of the villager's song art thou, 



The woodpecker tapping the hollow beech-tree." 



In South America there are three varieties of 

 birds which use their wings for other purposes than 

 flying. The penguin uses his wings as a fish uses 

 his fins, and may be termed the fish of the bird 

 world ; the ostrich uses his wings as sails, and is the 

 ship of the bird-world ; while the loggerhead duck, 

 which was formerly known as the race-horse of the 

 water because of his unusual manner of running 

 and splashing along, is now called by the more 

 appropriate name of steamer. 



The wings of these steamers are very unusual, 

 and while they are not large enough or strong 

 enough to permit of much flight, yet they serve by 

 splashing and flopping the water to evolve great 



