Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.

Page 2 · column 3 of 6 · from the scan, no model involved

The clipping this text was read from
The clipping this text was read from

around its bill to keep flying chips out of its eyes.

The 7-1/2 inch Hairy Woodpecker, Picoides villosus, is almost identical to the downy except for a distinct difference in size. The bill of the Downy Woodpecker is much shorter in proportion to its body than the long, typical, woodpecker-like bill of the Hairy. This identical-exceptin-size occurs in other birds: Sharp-shinned and Cooper’s Hawks and in sandpipers, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs.

When working over a tree trunk, a downy will dodge or slip around if a predator appears. The hawk is momentarily confused and when searching on the other side of

the tree for-what he hopes

will be. s future meal,

he caniiot find the

little woodpecker,

for it has flattened

itself against the

tree trunk. The bird

is motionless and

depends on this

and protective coloration

to escape

detection. The

downy will also slip

around the tree

when human watchers

move in too close.

It is possible that the

tapping I heard this —' ^ morning was a Downy

V Woodpecker excavating

-S a sleeping chamber for

the winter. Though the

woodpecker pair

remains mated throughout

the year, each excavates separate sleeping cavities.

In March, the pair will begin serious work on a nesting cavity with an entrance of 1-1/4 inches in diameter.

At the bottom of this gourdshaped

excavation, a bowl

is hollowed out in which white eggs are laid. No nest material is required; soft wood chips do very well instead.

Since a pair of Downy Woodpeckers use a nest cavity for only one breeding season, this year’s nesting hollow will be available for other birds that do not build open nests. Chicadees, Titmice, nuthatches and House Wrens seek out and build their nests in last year’s Downy Woodpecker nest cavity. It’s a sort of recycling that benefits a number of birds and even small mammals such as flying squirrels.

In 1832, Alexander Wilson, the Father of American Ornithology, wrote, “The principal characteristics of this little bird are diligence, familiarity, and perseverance.” Alexander Wilson is my ornithological hero; as usual, this great man said it all in a very few words. =7

94.4%