THE DOWNY WOODPECKER 163 



My bird is a genuine little savg 

 but I value him as a neighbor. It , 

 during the cold or stormy winte 

 he is warm and cozy there in hi 

 the day is bad and unfit to be 

 there too. When I wish to know 

 I go and rap upon his tree, and, 

 lazy or indifferent, after some del 

 his head in his round doorway al 

 above, and looks down inquiringly upor 

 sometimes latterly I think half resentfully, as 

 much as to say, "I would thank you not to dis- 

 turb me so often." After sundown, he will not 

 put his head out any more when I call, but 

 as I step away I can get a glimpse of him inside 

 looking cold and reserved. He is a late riser, 

 especially if it is a cold or disagreeable morning, 

 in this respect being like the barn fowls; it is 

 sometimes near nine o'clock before I see him 

 leave his tree. On the other hand, he comes home 

 early, being in, if the day is unpleasant, by four 

 p. M. He lives all alone ; in this respect I do not 

 commend his example. Where his mate is, I 

 should like to know. 



I have discovered several other woodpeckers 

 in adjoining orchards, each of which has a like 

 home, and leads a like solitary life. One of them 

 has excavated a dry limb within easy reach of 



