MY WOODLAND INTIMATES 



the little habitations they are preparing, or of 

 shielding their young from discovery. 



Now we are very near the sound. I think an 

 observation halt will be of advantage to us at 

 this stage of the proceedings. Here is a hospita- 

 ble spruce in whose strong lower arms I have 

 many a time found a comfortable resting-place 

 and the seclusion required for just such investi- 

 gating occasions as the present. 



High up on the main trunk of yonder half-de- 

 cayed old maple I see a brownish-gray bird. He 

 is flattened against the tree, and he rests on his 

 dark, stiffly spread tail, which is firmly braced 

 against the bark. A red crescent at the back of a 

 gray head moves rapidly as hammer and drill are 

 called into requisition. We have often sighted 

 the handsome flicker as he flew about the grove 

 and searched for food in the tree-trunks or on the 

 ground. Now we are fortunate enough to come 

 upon him while he is at work on the opening that 

 represents the front door of his house. 



There is life in the old maple yet, as a few bud- 

 ding branches still testify, but there is decay 

 enough to make the puncturing of the bark and 

 the work of excavation a comparatively easy task 

 for these powerful bills. The woodpeckers arc 



