DOWNY WOODPECKER. 



ORDER PICI. WOODPECKERS, ETC. 

 Family Picidos. 



The Woodpeckers are generally solitary birds, charac- 

 teristically busy at all hours of the day, and little given 

 to social intercourse with their fellows. The skull and 

 chisel-like bill of the little " hammerer" are remarkably 

 strong, and wonderfully adapted to chip away bark, and 

 expose the retreats of bugs and grubs ; also, an exceed- 

 ingly long, sharp tongue is peculiarly adapted to draw 

 out the hidden insect. The Woodpeckers are not singers, 

 but their bills are really the equivalent of drum-sticks 

 with which they rap out a rolling tattoo, a summons to 

 their lady-loves ! The rigid, pointed tail feathers of the 

 birds assist them in maintaining a perpendicular position, 

 through pressure against the rough bark of the tree. 



Downy This is the smallest and commonest 



Woodpecker we have, and it is resident 

 pubescens throughout that range of country which 

 L. 6.75 inches extends from Florida to Labrador. Its 

 A II the year marking is a pronounced symphony in 

 black and white accented by a red band ; a broad stripe 

 of white runs down the centre of the back ; wings black 

 numerously spotted with white ; a scarlet band on the 

 nape of the neck ; middle tail feathers black, but the 

 outer ones white barred with black ; two broadish white 

 stripes, one above, the other below the eye extending 

 backward. The Hairy Woodpecker is similarly marked, 

 but the outer tail feathers are white without bars, and it 

 is nearly half as long again from bill to tail. The nest 

 is usually in the hole of a dead limb ; the egg is pure 

 white. The female is marked like the male, but the red 

 band is absent. 



Both birds are indefatigable workers in the building of 

 the nest, but the female apparently loses a great deal 

 of time in critically examining the premises. She ex- 

 plores every nook and cranny as soon as the male bird 

 has chipped away a satisfactory round opening, and then 

 falls to with him at the grand act of excavation. 



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