68 NATURE-STUDY REVIEW [13:2— Feb., 1917 



comfortable nest for the mother bird and also the baby birds 

 when they should arrive. 



It was either in May or June that the mother woodpecker laid 

 six glossy white eggs in the nest. Then she sat there for two 

 weeks; she did not have a place to look out, for you know the 

 woodpecker's home has no windows, but by and by six little naked 

 blind helpless nestlings came, then the parents were very busy 

 getting enough food to fill these hungry babies; they would catch 

 flies on the wing and drill holes into the bark of the tree to find 

 other insects hiding there. No one could disturb these babies, 

 unless it were the little squirrel ; they would lie in their warm dark 

 nest and as soon as they could see they would look up at the ray 

 of light that came in through the doorway, until they could hear 

 the scratching of their mother's feet as she alighted on the outside 

 of the tree to feed them. In about two weeks the babies were 

 fully feathered and were able to climb up to the top of the nest 

 from which they could look out of the doorway with great curiosity 

 but if they heard the slightest noise they slipped back into their 

 nests, but in a day or two they were ready to leave their nest and 

 began to fly. They loved to fly to the tin roofs where the children 

 live and drum a merry tune. 



Then they all began to store up food for future use, they stored 

 up acorns, insects, and nuts, especially beechnuts; they put them 

 in little holes and crevices, cavities of old tree-trunks, in fence 

 posts, and, even in crannies in barns. They have all kinds of 

 storehouses . You know their bill is like a little pickaxe so they have 

 no trouble in getting the food out of these places. At first the 

 baby birds do not look like their parents ; they are gray and do not 

 have the beautiful red-head and breast with a blue black color 

 on their back and white below, but it is not long before their gray 

 head turns to a beautiful red and they wear the black and white 

 uniform and become real red-headed woodpeckers. 



Ah, may I be as cheerful 



As yonder winter birds, 

 Through ills and petty crosses, 



With no repining words; 

 So, teaching me this lesson, 



Away, away they go, 

 And leave their tiny footprints 



In stars upon the snow. 



— George Cooper. 



