Downy Woodpecker 
191 
DOWNY WOODPECKER 
A hardy little friend is the downy wood- 
pecker who, like the chickadee, stays by us the 
year around. Probably no other two birds are 
so useful in our orchards as these, that keep up 
a tireless search for the insect robbers of our 
fruit. Wintry weather can be scarcely too 
severe for either, for both wear a warm coat of 
fat under their skins and both have the com- 
fort of a snug retreat when bitter blasts blow. 
Friend downy is too good a carpenter, you 
may be sure, to neglect making a cozy cavity for 
himself in autumn, just as the hairy wood- 
pecker does. The chickadee, titmouse, nut- 
hatch, bluebird, wren, tree swallow, sparrow 
hawk, crested flycatcher and owls, are not the 
only birds that are thankful to occupy his snug 
quarters in some old tree after he has moved 
out in the spring to the new nursery that his 
mate and he make for their family. He knows 
the advantage of a southern exposure for his 
hoUow home and chisels his winter quarters 
deep enough to escape a draught. Here he lives 
in single blessedness — or selfishness? — with no 
thought now for the comfort of his mate, who, 
happily, is quite as good a carpenter as he, 
and as able to care for herself. She may make 
a winter home or keep the nursery. 
