OUTDOORS 



here, and often in quite large numbers. He 

 sails above the woods and alights on the tops 

 of the tallest trees, keeping a sharp lookout 

 for suspicious-looking characters, especially 

 any one with a gun. When he nests he usu- 

 ally does so in a high oak somewhere along 

 the banks of a river or in places where the 

 oak-groves stand. His monotonous cawing 

 and his black wings are common enough in 

 these forests. 



The woodpeckers the golden-winged, the 

 red-headed woodpecker, and the downy and 

 hairy woodpecker are seen sometimes on 

 the outskirts of woods such as these, but sel- 

 dom in their innermost depths. The red- 

 head is the only one who ventures into the 

 inner sanctuaries, and he is usually found 

 perched on some lightning-blasted trunk, 

 beating a tattoo, and at times sending his 

 shrill call through the treetops. The golden- 

 winged woodpecker skirts the edges, flitting 

 from rail to rail of the environing fences and 

 flying to the fields when disturbed. The other 

 members of the woodpecker family frequent 

 the scattered portions where trees grow far- 

 ther apart, and here they seek the dead 

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