The Downy Woodpecker 63 



are heard several feet off, and I have known him to be at 

 work two hours together on the same tree. 



These Woodpeckers also dig out holes in dead trees as 

 homes for themselves at other times than the nesting season. 

 In winter these snug houses must be especially useful to them. 

 "A new nesting site is usually selected each season, in the 

 vicinity of the old one, but occasionally this is cleaned out, 

 deepened a little, and used for several seasons in succession. 

 After the nesting hole is finished, the male frequently digs out 

 a somewhat shallower one for himself in the same tree or 

 another close by. Each pair of birds lay claim to a certain 

 range and intruders are driven away." 



Geographical Distribution 



The Downy Woodpecker is found from the southern borders of the 

 United States northward to Labrador, occurring as far west as the 

 Great Plains and British Columbia. 



