THE' DOWNY WOODPECKER. 25 



feet to check their direct momentum. Clinging to the bark 

 of the trunk or larger limbs of the trees with their sharp, 

 hooked claws, and using the peculiar feathers of the tail as 

 a support, they hop upward or sidewise, or drop backward, 

 but do not move with the head downward, after the manner 

 of the Nuthatches. They often take insects on the wing, 

 and relish the smaller fruits; but their principal fare consists 

 of insects and their eggs and larvae as found in the bark or 

 crevices, or as excavated and drawn out from decaying or 

 damaged trees. 



Now, from the general to the particular. The Downy 

 Woodpecker (Picus pubescent], 6.75 and 12.00 in extent, is the 

 dwarf of his family, and, in color and marking, is almost pre- 

 cisely like his nearest relative, the Hairy Woodpecker. His 

 small size alone may distinguish him from all other Wood- 

 peckers in this locality. The top of the head, the cheeks, 

 the back of the neck, both sides of the back, the wings and 

 central feathers of the tail are jet black. A stripe running 

 back over each eye, and one extending back from under 

 each eye and up the sides of the neck, the middle of the 

 back, regular transverse rows of round spots in the wings, 

 and three feathers on each side of the tail are white, the 

 latter being spotted with black. The under parts are of a 

 grayish white, and the male is marked with carmine on the 

 sides of the hind head. Like those of all the rest of the 

 family, the eggs of this little species, some 85 X-62, are pure 

 white. As is common with Woodpeckers, both sexes take 

 part in incubation. The Downy Woodpecker is particu- 

 larly fond of orchards and such arboreal accommodations 

 as may be found in the vicinity of the abode of man. Its 

 note, chick, chick, is cheerful, and suggestive of contentment 

 and self-satisfaction, and, like the notes of the Woodpeckers 

 in general, expresses a vigorous energy. It is resident 



