52 
BIRDS OF DURHAM AND VICINITY. 
November, it is not surprising to see one at any time in tlie year. The 
northward movement reaches us about the twentieth of April. A pair 
usually nests in some of the banks near Bunker's bridge. They are 
especially noticeable fn September, when they are noisy and even 
sportive. As a rule they are wary, and they have reason to be, for 
no bird is more often shot at "just for fun.^' They understand the 
power of gunpowder very well, and usually keep at a safe distance, 
though if left unmolested they become quite tame. 
Order PICI. 
Family FICID/E. 
Dryobates villosus. Hairy Woodpecker. 393. 
Hairy Woodpeckers are tolerable common permanent residents, 
though they are not so plentiful that I would agree to find one on any 
given day. Their food habits are not unlike those of the Downy Wood- 
pecker. The college woods and the timber lot belonging to Mr. 
Albert Demeritt are the most favorable places to look for them that I 
know of near the college. As a rule, they prefer large trees and 
spend most of their time injthe woods, though orchard and roadside 
trees are not infrequently visited. The nest is usually made in a dead 
portion of a living tree. It is readily found by looking for chips on 
the ground in May. ]\Iost of the chips taken from the nesting hole 
are simply brought to the door and dropped, so the ground beneath 
is whitened. 
Dryobates pubescens. Downy Woodpecker. 394. 
This is the common species so often seen associating with chick- 
adees and nuthatches in cold weather. It is then quite familiar, and 
will come to the window-sill with its friends to get bits of meat 
that are sometimes put out by bird lovers. The stomach of a 
June specimen contained four beetles, two centipedes, two carpenter 
ants, and two beetle larvae. A September specimen had eaten one 
adult and one larval beetle. It is not addicted to any particular kind 
or size of tree, but searches all with equal diligence. Any tree infested 
by borers becomes the woodpeckers asylum. The holes he pecks are 
small, and far less harmful than the borer that came out of it. Wood- 
peckers do not peck holes in sound trees, and whoever sees one at 
work on his tree may be sure there is trouble with it, and tliat the 
bird can remedy it better than he can. Woodpeckers should be 
