WINTER NEIGHBORS. 151 



his unwelcome neighbor in the following ingenious 

 manner : he fairly scuttled the other cavity ; he 

 drilled a hole into the bottom of it that let in the 

 light and the cold, and I saw the female there no 

 more. I did not see him in the act of rendering this 

 tenement uninhabitable ; but one morning, behold it 

 was punctured at the bottom, and the circumstances 

 all seemed to point to him as the author of it. There 

 is probably no gallantry among the birds except at 

 the mating season. I have frequently seen the male 

 woodpecker drive the female away from the bone 

 upon the tree. When she hopped abound to the other 

 end and timidly nibbled it, he would presently dart 

 spitefully at her. She would then take up her posi- 

 tion in his rear and wait till he had finished his meal. 

 The position of the female among the birds is very 

 much the same as that of woman among savage 

 tribes. Most of the drudgery of life falls upon her, 

 and the leavings of the males are often her lot. 



My bird is a genuine little savage, doubtless, but I 

 value him as a neighbor. It is a satisfaction during 

 the cold or stormy winter nights to know he is warm 

 and cozy there in his retreat. When the day is bad 

 and unfit to be abroad in, he is there too. When I 

 wish to know if he is at home, I go and rap upon his 

 tree, and, if he is not too lazy or indifferent, after 

 some delay he shows his head in his round doorway 

 about ten feet above, and looks down inquiringly 

 upon me sometimes latterly I think half resent- 

 fully, as much as to say, " I would thank you not to 



