OF VIRGINIA 34] 
set here. An unusual nesting site was a fallen pine tree 
trunk from the river bank, whose limb stubs held it off 
the beach about two feet. The birds had drilled a hole 
on the under side in the rotten casing, only the tell-tale 
pile of chips disclosing this unique position to me. The 
eggs are white, heavily spotted with reddish-brown. 
Size, .60x.49. Both birds work incessantly at the nesting 
cavity until it is finished, one relieving the other as soon 
as they become tired or hungry. I know of no more active 
birds in our section, and, as they remain paired for life, 
we always find one following the other around, or both 
working the same pine tree in close proximity, in search 
of food. Their flight has the same jerky motion to it as 
the woodpeckers’, but their small size, and the shortness of 
their tail make them easily distinguishable when in flight. 
I have found them equally, though not abundantly, dis- 
tributed over Tidewater, and if they were only more 
numerous, they would be a great factor in preserving our 
pine forests, for much of their food is taken from the bark 
of that tree, consisting of spiders, minute insects, grubs 
and egos, while seed from the pine cones seems to be one 
of their staple articles of food at all seasons. 
