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AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 



A HAIRY WOODPECKER. 



ATHER early one morning during- the 

 first week of June, my sister came to» 

 my room and told me that there was a 

 bird in her room downstairs. I asked 

 her what bird it was, but she was un- 

 able to tell me. She had gone into the 

 room to get something and had found 

 a bird between the window and the 

 screen! My sister at once pulled up the 

 screen releasing the bird into the room, 

 I hurried down and to my surprise 

 found a female Hairy Woodpecker, 

 From my sister's description of the 

 bird I had been unable to guess who our prisoner was. 



One window was open and I opened a second one, pulling the shades 

 down half way so that the bird would not kill herself by flying against 

 the window-panes in trying to escape. 



The Woodpecker fluttered about the room, evidently very much 

 frightened. She occasionally clung to the mouldings, bracing herself 

 against the wall with her tail. Several times she perched on the cur- 

 tain-poles, and once, hung absolutely upsidedown from one of those 

 rods, at the same time craning her head around to be sure of where I 

 was. 



I had been in the room some time, and during that time the Wood- 

 pecker made no attempt to escape, so I took the screen out of the third 

 window, and was just going to open the window, when I looked around 

 and found that the poor frightened bird had successfully escaped while 

 my back was turned. 



I was very much surprised to find that a Hairy Woodpecker ever came 

 near houses in warm weather. I supposed he remained invariably in 

 the woods. It was also a mystery to us all how it succeeded in getting 



between the window and the screen. 



Jean Lampton, 



