Conspicuously Black and White 
which hide beneath the bark, and with this end in view, the bird 
is seen clinging to the trunks and branches of trees through fair 
and wintry weather, industriously scanning every inch for the 
well-known signs of the boring worm or destructive fly. 
In the autumn the male begins to excavate his winter quar- 
ters, carrying or throwing out the chips, by which this good 
workman is known, with his beak, while the female may make 
herself cosey or not, as she chooses, in an abandoned hole. About 
her comfort he seems shamefully unconcerned. Intent only on 
his own, he drills a perfectly round hole, usually on the under 
side of a limb where neither snow nor wind can harm him, and 
digs out a horizontal tunnel in the dry, brittle wood in the very 
heart of the tree, before turning downward into the deep, pear- 
shaped chamber, where he lives in selfish solitude. But when the 
nesting season comes, how devoted he is temporarily to the mate 
he has neglected and even abused through the winter ! Will she 
never learn that after her clear-white eggs are laid and her brood 
raised he will relapse into the savage and forget all his tender 
wiles ? 
The hairy woodpecker, like many another bird and beast, fur- 
nishes much doubtful weather lore for credulous and inexact ob- 
servers. “When the woodpecker pecks low on the trees, expect 
warm weather” is a common saying, but when different individ- 
uals are seen pecking at the same time, one but a few feet from 
the ground, and another among the high branches, one may 
make the prophecy that pleases him best. 
The hairy woodpeckers love the deep woods. They are 
drummers, not singers; but when walking in the desolate winter 
woods even the drumming and tapping of the busy feathered 
workmen on a resonant limb is a solace, giving a sense of life and 
cheerful activity which is invigorating. 
The Downy Woodpecker 
(Dryobates pubescens ) Woodpecker family 
Length— 6 to 7 inches. About the size of the English sparrow. 
Male — Black above, striped with white. Tail shaped like a wedge. 
Outer tail feathers white, and barred with black. Middle tail 
feathers black. A black stripe on top of head, and distinct 
white band over and under the eyes. Red patch on upper 
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