/; Y the wa yside 
37 
SCHOOL BRANCH DEPARTMENT 
Every Wisconsin School Branch is required to subscribe for at least one copy of BY THE WAYSIDE 
Letters to this department should be 
written on only one side of the page, should 
give name, age and address of the writer 
and should be mailed by the first of the 
month; Illinois writers sending to Miss 
Mary A. Hardman, Academy of Sciences, 
Chicago, Ill., and Wisconsin writers to Mr. 
Roland E. Kremers, Madison, Wis. To 
each writer whose letter is published will 
he sent an illustrated leallet on some bird. 
For the best letter each month we will send 
a second leaflet. Preference will be given 
to letters about the bird study for the 
month and to original observations. 
Any Wisconsin society may, by paying 
the express, have the use of the Cordon and 
Merrill Libraries of bird books by applying 
to Mr. Kremers. 
Wisconsin parties should apply to the 
University Extension Division, Madison, for 
colored bird slides. Illinois Schools may 
use. without expense, a library or a lecture 
with lantern slides, by applying to Miss 
Runnel, Academy of Sciences, Chicago. 
< ( 
Dixie.” 
It was on a cold, dreary day in late 
November two years ago, that we first 
made “Dixie’s” acquaintance. We 
had all been wishing that we could go 
to a "warmer climate for the winter so 
we were quite surprised to have a vis¬ 
itor arrive from the South. Of course 
we were very glad to see her for guests 
from away were rare at that time of 
year. She was very attractive, and 
proved to be a most delightful guest. 
She never complained of the cold or 
seemed to miss the flowers and green 
leaves of her southern home. While 
she did not really say so, she made us 
feel that she had come from the South 
just to enjoy our hospitality. 
It may not have been very polite to 
nickname her “ Dixie” on such short 
acquaintance but Mrs. Red-bellied 
Woodpecker seemed too long a name 
for every day use. Then too, it didn’t 
seem to suit her very well for her belly 
was not red but buffy. She was really 
very fine looking, as she had a finely 
barred black and white back, soft gray 
breast, and a bright scarlet cap set 
back on her gray head. She made her 
relatives the Hairy and Downy Wood¬ 
peckers look quite plain. Perhaps it 
was a good thing that the Red-head 
family were all spending the winter in 
the South, for I am afraid they would 
have lost their place as the family 
beauties if compared with their hand¬ 
some southern cousin. 
We always watched eagerly for 
“Dixie’s” visits to the lunch counter 
as we called the piece of suet tied to a 
tree in front of our windows. There 
seemed to be something wrong with 
the days when we did not see her. We 
have had many bird visitors but never 
a more interesting one than “Dixie.’ 
As the only one of her kind here she 
seemed to belong to us as much as oiu 
canary did. Every Red-bellied Wood¬ 
pecker will always be “Dixie” to us 
and be loved for the sake of our win¬ 
ter guest. As she had come to us 
when the birds had nearly all gone in 
the fall, so she left us when they were 
returning from the South in the spring. 
We are still hoping that- she will visit 
us again. 
Donna Hutch in. 
