ii6 



A YEAR OF SPORT AND NATURAL HISTORY. 



tunnellings of the Woodpeckers, always narrowing down the 

 entrance to the smallest possible dimensions by the use of clay and 

 small stones. 



The Wryneck, as every schoolboy knows, is never at the pains 

 to drill for itself, but takes possession of the most convenient hole 

 that offers. And every boy knows, too, how valiantly it guards its 



THE WOODPECKER. 



eggs, and the courage needed to put a hand down into that dark 

 hole where the creature is hissing like a snake. What can be 

 more beautiful than the courage shown by the tiniest birds when 

 nesting ? It has been the writer's practice for many years to fix 

 up in the garden trees movable boxes with a little hole in the side 

 through which the birds can go to nest. All the Tit-mice are fond 



