Woodpeckers. 175 



with a peculiarly undulating kind of flight — up and 

 down, up and down — to the foot of another tree, and 

 goes through the very same process with it, rising up 

 and up in slanting lines, ever tap-tapping as he goes. 

 Though he prefers the elm, he carefully works, as well 

 as builds, in other soft-wooded trees also, and may 

 be seen ascending the beech and poplar, even the pine 

 and fir. Some ornithologists have said, indeed, that 

 they prefer the woodpecker in the winter-time to any 

 other season : he is such a sprightly, merry, active 

 fellow, always making the best of it. And I am almost 

 fain to confess that so do I. The nest of the woodpecker 

 is a peculiar specimen. He builds it in a hole in a 

 decayed tree, and is ingenious enough, though seldom 

 seen. The woodpecker is a characteristic presence in 

 the winter woodland, and therefore we have felt justi- 

 fied in referring to it here, and doing it honour for its 

 persistency, cleverness, cheerfulness, and activity. It 

 has sometimes, indeed, to fight for its own, and then 

 it fights bravely — that is, when a thieving starling 

 wishes to oust it from the hole it has made for its 

 nest; and as the woodpecker cares for nothing more 

 for nest-lining than a few chips of wood he has 

 dropped down to the bottom of the hole as he was 

 working, and Master Starling, it would seem, knows 

 this, and as a last resort, drops down sticks, straws, 

 and other nondescript articles — and then, much dis- 

 liking these, the poor woodpecker abandons the nest 

 to his enemy. It may happen, indeed, if there are 

 many starlings about, that the poor woodpecker is 

 thus " moved on," and " moved on " from nest to nest, 

 pitiable bird in very truth, till he is defeated in rearing 

 even one brood for a whole season. Its favourite trees 

 are the chestnut, sycamore, and silver fir. 



