„ , hammers away on a dry old pine stub. As 

 a rule he seems to do this more for the noise 

 ^ it makes, and the exercise of his abilities, 



Jef/ow than because he expects to find insects; 



eaients gxcept in winter time, when he goes back to 

 his old ways. But out in the field he has 

 a variety of notes. Sometimes it is a loud 

 kee-uk ! like the scream of a blue jay divided 

 into two syllables, with the accent on the 

 last. Again it is a cheery whistling call, of 

 very short notes run close together, with 

 accent on every other one. Again he teeters 

 up and down on the end of a fence rail, with a 

 rollicking eekoo, eekoo, eekoo, that sounds more 

 like a laugh than anything else among the 

 birds. 



A curious habit, which the bird has adopted 

 with advancing civilization, is that of provid- 

 ing himself with a sheltered sleeping place 

 from the storms and cold of winter, instead 

 of migrating to the South. Late in the fall 

 he finds a deserted building, and after a great 

 deal of shy inspection, to satisfy himself that 

 no one is within, drills a hole through the 

 side. He has then a comfortable place to 



