of the trees works throughout the entire year and takes no holi- 

 days. He is always searching for the tree-destroying borers, 

 ants and caterpillars. Clinging to the trunk with his peculiar 

 feet and braced with his stifif tail, he hammers away with a 

 vigor that must startle the grubs within. Quickly overtaking 

 them with his hammer and chisel and spfearing them with his 

 barbed tongue, he makes but a single bite of the largest of them. 



The Downy Woodpecker is the tamest member of his 

 family, coming daily into the trees of the lawns and the 

 orchards for food. He is little disturbed by your approach and 

 seldom flies farther away than the next tree when he is com- 

 pelled to move. In the midst of his searching, he often utters 

 a cheerful chick, chick that seems to indicate his certainty of 

 success. In the winter he is on good terms with Nuthatches 

 and Chickadees, roaming the woods with them during the day 

 in search of food, and often taking them home with him at 

 night to sleep. 



He is easily distinguished from his cousin, the Hairy 

 Woodpecker whose coloring is almost exactly the same, but 

 whose size is about one and a half time^ as great. Two other 

 points of difference are also noticeable, — the plumage on the 

 back of the Hairy Woodpecker is so blended as to give the 

 appearance of hairs rather than of feathers, and the outer tail- 

 feathers of the Hairy are clear white while those of the Downy 

 are white barred with black. He also keeps to the woods more 

 than the Downy, but in food and all other habits he closely 

 resembles him. 



Because the Downy Woodpeckers are so often seen in 

 the orchards, some farmers are suspicious of them and kill them 

 or drive them away, thinking they are after the fruit. All 

 Woodpeckers are innocent of any offense in that respect. They 

 would rather have one grub than a bushel of fruit. 



35 



