WINTER NEIGHBORS 



The particular woodpecker to which I 

 refer drilled his first hole in my apple-tree 

 one fall four or five years ago. This he oc- 

 cupied till the following spring, when he 

 abandoned it. The next fall he began a 

 hole in an adjoining limb, later than before, 

 and when it was about half completed a 

 female took possession of his old quarters. 

 I am sorry to say that this seemed to en- 

 rage the male very much, and he persecuted 

 the poor bird whenever she appeared upon 

 the scene. He would fly at her spitefully 

 and drive her off. One chilly November 

 morning, as I passed under the tree, I 

 heard the hammer of the little architect in 

 his cavity, and at the same time saw the 

 persecuted female sitting at the entrance 

 of the other hole as if she would fain come 

 out. She was actually shivering, probably 

 from both fear and cold. I understood the 

 situation at a glance ; the bird was afraid 

 to come forth and brave the anger of the 

 male. Not till I had rapped smartly upon 

 the limb with my stick did she come out 

 and attempt to escape ; but she had not 

 gone ten feet from the tree before the male 

 was in hot pursuit, and in a few moments 

 had driven her back to the same tree, where 



2S 



