\VOODPECKERS. 53

Our bird is more discreet, and never says any— thing more than coo/e, (00%, as it wanders from one shady perch to another. It is an exceedingly shy bird, hiding its rich, bronzed plumage most jealously in the thick foliage. It is not a parasite, like the English bird, but always builds a nest

for its own eggs. MW

@10on etlters.

We have seven species of these peculiar birds which obtain their living by diggingr the burrow— ing lame of insects out of their lnirs in the solid trunks of timber trees. Their bills are chisel— pointed and of great strength, their feet are eminently adapted for grasping and climbing, and their rigid tail feathers are pointed to form a fulcrum for their bodies while they stand erect at their work of chippingr into the firm wood.

The Downy, Hairy, and Black-backed Wood- peckers are all spotted, black and white birds which stay with us winter and summer. During the dreary months they add to the little life

found in the lonely wood—lands by flitting