30 THE ADVENTURES OF A NATURE GUIDE 



spots of white. Just above and below the eye is a 

 narrow white stripe, and a narrow white and red 

 stripe crosses the back of the head. The young- 

 sters commonly have a reddish top. 



The food of the hairy woodpecker consists of 

 wood borers, spiders, moths, ants, and occasionally 

 berries. Though they summer and nest in high 

 altitudes — often nearly eleven thousand feet above 

 sea-level — they commonly descend the mountains 

 with the approach of winter and spend the cooler 

 months among the foothills. The Rocky Moun- 

 tain hairy woodpecker is not so fond of living in 

 orchards and being near people as is his cousin the 

 downy. Although human visitors to his home 

 region do not annoy him he plainly enjoys the 

 seclusion of pathless forests. 



These woodpeckers probably mate for life, and 

 are quietly devoted, enjoying each other's company 

 without demonstration. For a week or two in 

 late spring Mr. Hairy Woodpecker is noisy enough. 

 He simply fills the woods with drumming, drum- 

 ming. 



He calls and calls merrily, with many a change 

 of tone. Often it is keak-keak-keak-kick-kick, 

 whit-whit-whit-whi-wi-wi-i-i-wi. But as soon as 

 the white eggs are laid — there are from three to 

 six in number — he does his full share of incubating 

 them. 



I was standing in an open space one day, watch- 

 ing the movements of a squirrel, when I chanced 



