IN FIELD AND WOOD 



the driving snow ever reaches him, and no preda- 

 tory owl could hook him out with its claw. Near 

 town or in town the English sparrow would probably 

 drive him out; but in the woods, I think, he is rarely 

 molested, though in one instance I knew him to be 

 dispossessed by a flying squirrel. 



On stormy days I have known Downy to return 

 to his chamber in mid-afternoon, and to lie abed 

 there till ten in the morning. 



I have no knowledge that any other species of our 

 woodpeckers excavate these winter quarters, but 

 they probably do. The chickadee has too slender a 

 beak for such work, and usually spends the winter 

 nights in natural cavities or in the abandoned 

 holes of Downy. 



in 



As I am writing here in my study these November 

 days, a downy woodpecker is excavating a chamber 

 in the top of a chestnut post in the vineyard a few 

 yards below me, or rather, he is enlarging a cham- 

 ber which he or one of his fellows excavated last fall; 

 he is making it ready for his winter quarters. A few 

 days ago I saw him enlarging the entrance and 

 making it a more complete circle. Now he is in the 

 chamber itself working away like a carpenter. I hear 

 his muffled hammering as I approach cautiously on 

 the grass. I make no sound and the hammering 

 continues till I have stood for a moment beside the 

 87 



