THE GOLDEN- WINGED WOODPECKER. 141 



of Spring, ever on the go, uttering at frequent inter- 

 vals his loud, clear, and not unpleasant cry. See with 

 what assiduous devotion he and his mate assist each 

 other in picking a hole into the solid heart of some 

 sturdy oak ; listen to the strokes of their bills ; see 

 the chips how they ily, and then call them sleepy 

 birds. And when the cares of a brood are devolving 

 upon them, they ply their busy bills with renewed 

 activity, searching every nook and cranny that comes 

 in their way for the daintiest worms, which they bear 

 away to their young. See one of these birds when 

 pursued by a Hawk ; just as he is almost within the 

 talons of his rapacious foe, he suddenly dives into a 

 hole near by, or in the absence of this, he alights 

 upon a tree and plays bo-peep with his enemy around 

 its trunk. It is truly laughable to see how he dodges 

 his pursuer, and you would wonder at the Hawk for 

 wasting his time over such nimble game. 



Westward of the Eocky Mountains there is a 

 Woodpecker found almost precisely similar to the 

 above, except that the under surface of the wings 

 and tail are orange-red, the shafts of each feather 

 being bright vermilion. 



We must here reluctantly close our observations 

 on this interesting group, leaving it to our readers to 

 pursue the study, as inclination leads them, among 

 the wild woods, where they will find some of the spe- 

 cies abundant at all seasons of the year. 



The Cuckoo, although not strictly a climbing bird, 

 belongs to the same order as the Woodpeckers, the 

 arrangement of the toes and other characteristics 



