Page:Birdcraft-1897.djvu/313

  road, and one, which I discovered from a tower window, on the topmost branch of a spruce some sixty feet from the ground. In this last case the nest was covered with small flakes of spruce bark, instead of the usual lichens.

After the nesting the males make themselves exceedingly scarce, while the females and young haunt the garden, feeding in flocks, the young being distinguishable by their dullness of plumage and the fact that they perch frequently. All through August and early September, before cooling nights warn them away, they dart through the mellow haze claiming the last Jacque roses and the blossoms that continue to wreathe the honeysuckle, only leaving them when the twilight chill stiffens their feathered mechanism.



When the mild gold stars flower out, As the summer gleaming goes, A dim shape quivers about Some sweet rich heart of a rose. * * * * * * * Then you, by thoughts of it stirred, Still dreamily question them: “Is it a gem, half bird, Or is it a bird, half gem?”—. 

 

 

FAMILY PICIDÆIE: WOODPECKERS.

 * Length:
 * 9-10 inches.


 * Male and Female:
 * Above black and white, white stripe on middle of back, red stripe on head. Wings spotted and striped with black and white, four outer tail feathers white. Under parts grayish white. Bill blunt, stout, and straight, nearly as long as head. Female lacks red spot on head.


 * Note:
 * A short, tapping sound.


 * Season:
 * Resident; shifting about in light woods.


 * Breeds:
 * Through range.


 * Nest:
 * In holes in trees at moderate height. 

