46 WOODLAND CREATURES 



there was a woodpecker's hole on the north side, 

 some ten feet from the ground, and at the foot 

 of the tree a great litter of fresh white chips. 

 By the way, the best method of finding wood- 

 peckers' nests is not to look up aloft, but on the 

 ground, the fallen chips being an infallible guide 

 to the trees in which new holes have been bored. 

 In this case there was quite a pile of chips, some 

 of which were so fresh and dry that it was evident 

 they had only just fallen. As the tapping still 

 went on, I hid myself behind the next tree and 

 waited. Some bits of wood fell out of the hole, 

 the tapping went on, more bits fell, then there 

 was silence, and, watching the hole, I saw a 

 black and white head with beady dark eyes looking 

 down. Satisfied all was well, the owner came out, 

 flew to another tree, and gave me a good view 

 of the woodpecker method of progression up the 

 trunk. With those short stiff tail feathers pressed 

 close to the bark, so that it sat on them as a person 

 sits on a shooting stick, it proceeded upwards 

 by a series of short jerky hops. I have also seen 

 one of these birds come down backwards in the 

 same manner, which sounds a much more difficult 

 feat, though the woodpecker seemed to find it 

 easy enough. In the latter case the tail was 

 carried just clear of the tree. The more one 

 watches woodpeckers the more one realizes what 

 highly specialized birds they are, perfectly adapted 

 for climbing trees, and boring holes in timber, 

 to say nothing of excavating in rotten wood for 

 the grubs and insects that form the chief part 



