WOODPECKERS AND THEIR ALLIES 61 



a garden, and proceed with his investigation of 

 the trees with as much apparent confidence as 

 one of the white-throats, is one of those contra- 

 dictions so frequently seen in bird life, not to be 

 accounted for in any way. 



I venture to state, from the little that the 

 wood-pie has permitted me to see of its move- 

 ments in the course of years, that when it is 

 pressed close to a moss and lichen-covered 

 trunk, with its head on one side, and so low 

 down in the shoulder feathers that not a ves- 

 tige of the red cap can be seen, that any chance 

 observer might pass within a yard of the bird 

 and not see it. Not that the wood-pie confines 

 itself to trees where the black, white, and grey 

 mosses so perfectly mimic its own colouring ; 

 but when it does this, and especially if it has 

 sighted you, the difficulty you will experience 

 in observing " drummers " will be very con- 

 siderable. 



As regards the drum of the bird, which is 

 heard more particularly in the pairing season, 

 I wish to offer my opinion for what it is worth, 

 formed as it has been from patient investiga- 

 tions, at all times of the year, in the woodland 

 haunts of this creature. 



One favourite haunt that I visit is a long line 



