POPULAR WOODPECKERS 43 



out intending it, they could hardly have 

 chosen a more convenient spot. The stump, 

 which is about twenty-five feet in height, 

 stands quite by itself in the middle of a 

 small open space, with a wooded amphithe- 

 atrical knoll at its back, while on the other 

 side it is overlooked by the windows of sev- 

 eral houses, the nearest almost within stone's 

 throw. So conspicuous is it, indeed, that 

 whenever I go there, as I do once in two or 

 three days, to see how matters are coming 

 on, I am almost sure to see the birds far in 

 advance of my arrival. 



They are always there. I heard of them 

 through the kindness of a stranger, on the 

 26th of June. His letter reached me (in 

 Boston) at two o'clock in the afternoon, and 

 at half past three I was admiring the birds. 

 It cannot be said that they welcomed my at- 

 tentions. From that day to this they have 

 treated me as an intruder. "You have 

 stayed long enough." " We are not at home 

 to-day." " Come now, old inquisitive, go 

 about your business." Things like these 

 they repeat to me by the half hour. Then, 

 in audible asides, they confide to each other 



