IN THE CATSKILLS 



The instinct of cleanliness no doubt prompts the 

 action in all cases, though the disposition to secrecy 

 or concealment may not be unmixed with it. 



The swallows form an exception to the rule, the 

 excrement being voided by the young over the 

 brink of the nest. They form an exception, also, 

 to the rule of secrecy, aiming not so much to con- 

 ceal the nest as to render it inaccessible. 



Other exceptions are the pigeons, hawks, and 

 water-fowls. 



But to return. Having a good chance to note 

 the color and markings of the woodpeckers as they 

 passed in and out at the opening of the nest, I saw 

 that Audubon had made a mistake in figuring or 

 describing the female of this species with the red 

 spot upon the head. I have seen a number of pairs 

 of them, and in no instance have I seen the mother 

 bird marked with red. 



The male was in full plumage, and I reluctantly 

 shot him for a specimen. Passing by the place 

 again next day, I paused a moment to note how 

 matters stood. I confess it was not without some 

 compunctions that I heard the cries of the young 

 birds, and saw the widowed mother, her cares now 

 doubled, hastening to and fro in the solitary woods. 

 She would occasionally pause expectantly on the 

 trunk of a tree and utter a loud call. 



It usually happens, when the male of any species 

 is killed during the breeding season, that the female 

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