198 BIRD PARADISE 



A friend writes me that he sets a table for his 

 bird visitors supplied with bones and suet. He 

 states that he has seen the downy woodpecker eat 

 his fill then take a piece and carry it to an oak 

 tree forty yards away and secure it in the shaggy 

 bark. It is an instance of provision for the rainy 

 day not common to any great extent with the 

 birds and not common, in that particular way, 

 with many of our animals. I have seen it with 

 different species, but varied in the manner of 

 doing so that no two acts appear to have much in 

 common. A friend of mine, who resides near the 

 large wood just west of the village of Clayville, 

 described the action of downy woodpecker that 

 really showed what had all the appearance of a 

 process of reasoning. He came out of the wood, 

 took his place on a maple tree that stood near my 

 friend's house and after tapping it with his sharp 

 bill in a dozen places flew away. The maple sap 

 trickled down the rough trunk and the flies soon 

 congregated in large numbers. Downy returned 

 and feasted on the flies, his previous work ap- 

 parently preparing the way for the feast. The 

 shrike will sometimes store a small amount of 

 food, but I know of no bird that will provide to 

 any great extent for the future. Most of the 



