ENEMIES FOR THE SINGERS 269 



to take his turn with his mate at sitting, but 

 after that day he appeared no more at the 

 nest. Was the shock of my visit too much 

 for his philosophy ? 



The woodpecker did not abandon the 

 neighborhood, however. Every day he or 

 his double came early to the camp, knock- 

 ing politely on the roof, making a great noise, 

 but declining our earnest invitation to " Come 

 in!" 



The entrance to this interesting little home 

 was on the water-side of the stump, and Na- 

 ture had apparently provided a beautiful 

 porch roof for them. It was a soft gray- 

 white fungus, just the right size and shape 

 and in the proper position. It would have 

 kept out the rain finely, and I wondered the 

 birds did not open their doorway under it. 

 Their entrance, on the contrary, was over it, 

 and almost at the top of the old trunk. 



All through the day I watched the wood- 

 pecker family, but the evening, when they 

 had become quiet, I devoted to the singers. 

 It was an interesting bird neighborhood, 

 almost entirely of woods-dwellers, of course. 

 One pair of robins had strayed in there, 



