IDYLLS OF BIRD LIFE 
creeper, the kinglet has none of his energy, and rather inclines 
to take things easier. Like the nuthatches, he can hang upside 
down from any limb, and pick off an insect with the skill of 
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any of his neighbors. 
The hairy woodpecker is one of the most diligent workers 
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of the Wiiiter troop. He is about the size of a robin, black and 
white above, with white below. A bright red patch is on the 
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nape of his neck, and the wings are striped and dashed with 
black and white. The outer tail feathers are white, without 
Tars.s A white stripe is about the eyes, and on the sides of the 
head. 
We all know the bill of the woodpecker is well adapted for 
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its work. Its business in life is to protect the tree by destroying 
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the insects that lurk beneath their bark. In any kind of weather 
this faithful bird may be seen clinging to the trunk of some tree, 
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busily engaged in plying his vocation. We naturally associate 
this hardy bird with the Winter weather, for by his very nature 
he is able to obtain an abundant food supply much more readilyS 
than most of the other non-migratory birds, which makes him 
free from the depressing spirit of the season. He is in the 
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