THE LIFE ABOUT THE NEST 

 additions until now it was nearly five feet in thickness 

 and about four feet across the top. 



At this date it contained two fledglings perhaps 

 three weeks old. Having been led to believe that 

 Eagles were ferocious birds when their nests were ap- 

 proached, it was with feelings of relief that I noticed 

 the parents flying about at long rifle-range. The 

 female, which, as is usual with birds of prey, was the 

 larger of the pair, once or twice swept within twenty 

 yards of my head, but quickly veered off and re- 

 sumed her former action of beating back and forth 

 over the tree-tops two hundred yards away. 



Nests in Holes. — The members of the Woodpecker 

 family, contrary to certain popular beliefs, do not 

 lay their eggs in hollow trees but deposit them in 

 cavities that they excavate for the purpose. The 

 bird student will soon learn just where to look for the 

 nest of each species. Thus you may find the nest- 

 ing cavity of the Red-headed Woodpecker in a tall 

 stump or dead tree; in some States it is a common 

 bird in towns, and often digs its cavity in a telephone 

 [33] 



