or wood of a tree that to other animals 

 would be imperceptible. 



The flight of the Hairy Woodpecker is 

 like that of the other species of its group. 

 It is wavering and undulating, seldom 

 protracted and usually consisting of a 

 number of short vibrations of the wings. 

 When alighting, they grasp the object 

 with both feet simultaneously. This 

 Woodpecker is the earliest of all the 

 family to build its nest. Mating begins 

 in the latter part of March, and at this 

 time the birds are exceedingly noisy. 

 The male when not feeding will resort 

 to some dead limb and vigorously drum 

 and ''the louder the noise produced, the 

 more satisfactory it appears to be to the 

 performer." 



Regarding the building of the nest, 

 Major Bendire says : "Both sexes take 

 part in the labor, and it is really won- 

 derful how neat and smooth, an exca- 

 vation these birds can make with their 

 chisel-shaped bills in a comparatively 

 short time. The entrance hole is round, 

 as if made with an auger, about two 

 inches in diameter, and just large enough 



to admit the body of the bird; the edges 

 are nicely beveled, the inside is equally 

 smooth, and the cavity is gradually en- 

 larged toward the bottom. The entrance 

 hole, which is not unfrequently placed 

 under a limb for protection from the 

 weather, generally runs in straight 

 through the solid wood for about three 

 inches, and then downward from ten to 

 eighteen inches, and some of the finer 

 chips are allowed to remain on the bot- 

 tom of the cavity, in which the eggs 

 are deposited. Both dead and living 

 trees are selected for nesting sites, gen- 

 erally the former. When living trees 

 are chosen, the inner core, or heart of 

 the tree, is usually more or less decayed. 

 These nesting sites are nearly always 

 selected with such good judgment that 

 such obstacles as hard knots are rarelv 

 encountered; should this occur, the site 

 is abandoned and a fresh one selected." 

 The male, after the work is completed, 

 will often excavate one or more holes 

 in the same tree in order that he may 

 have a resting place at night near to 

 his mate. 



A VARICOLORED FROG. 



An amateur naturalist, amid the ordi- 

 nary organic forms that he may encoun- 

 ter in his own country, is often griev- 

 ously puzzled at curious specimens of 

 animal life that may be brought under 

 his attention. But amid the illimitable 

 animal life of the wild region of the up- 

 per Orinoco even the most expert and 

 learned naturalist will often find himself 

 ^'stumped" by the many unusual and 

 hitherto undiscovered things that occa- 

 sionally beset his pathway. 



Among the many curious and quaint 

 animal specimens encountered by the 

 writer in this region was an arboreal frog 

 of startlingly beautiful colorings. This 

 little creature rested upon a stomach of 

 orange flame hue, while the head and 

 back were marked with velvet purple 

 tints, and a narrow snow-white stripe 



extended from the point of his nose to 

 the tip of a tiny tail. With such brilliant 

 colorings it is easily and distinctly ob- 

 served, but the snakes, weasels and other 

 arch enemies of the amphibians have no 

 relish for this handsome specimen. Its 

 weapon of defense against its would-be 

 enemies is a sweat venom of a most nau- 

 seous odor, which it emits when any one 

 approaches it. This venom is common 

 among the toads, and the fact is referred 

 to by Juvenal (Dryden's translation) of 

 the lady "who squeezed a toad into her 

 husband's wine." It is probable that the 

 beautiful frog of so many glaring col- 

 ors would have long since been exter- 

 minated by its many enemies and perse- 

 cutors but for the poisonous and nau- 

 seous fluid ejected from its glands. 

 Andrew James Miller. 



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