98 Twelve Months With 



because the eggs of the latter are marked with 

 clear brown spots. The purple spots on these eggs 

 were so dark as to be almost black, and were 

 scrawled and strung out like the markings on the 

 eggs of the oriole. I was now very eager to see 

 more of the mother bird, so that identification 

 might be made certain. I sat down on a log a few 

 moments hoping she would return, but she did not. 

 I walked over to the phoebe's nest and watched 

 the birds feed their young a few moments and as I 

 started back I heard what sounded like young birds 

 teasing, and I thought it might be the young cow- 

 bird again. Upon looking up through the 

 branches I discovered an old dead stub with a 

 small hole in it, which seemed to be the place 

 whence the sound came. I stepped over and gently 

 rapped on the trunk and the teasing stopped 

 instantly. Waiting a moment, a female downy 

 woodpecker flew up and alighted just below the 

 hole, with her beak full of grubs for her young. 

 She paused a moment to look me over with some 

 apparent alarm, and then disappeared into the 

 hole. Very soon the male bird also flew up to the 

 hole with his beak full, playing the part of the 

 dutiful husband and father, in rather marked con- 

 trast to the neglect of the male spotted sandpiper 

 which I had observed earlier in the day. I once 

 timed a pair of downy woodpeckers feeding their 

 young, and found that each bird brought a grub 

 to the nest about every eight minutes, making the 

 feedings average one every four minutes. 



