Evening star., 1946-01-23
This and That
BIZ Charles E. TrdceDeH.


Dear Sir:
'I want to tell you and your readers
about the downy woodpecker which daily
comes to small suet feeder.
Il put this feeding station just out
side window where I could watch the
guests easily.
THE rack held cake of suet, in which
had been mixed seeds, grains and ber-
ries. For some reason the manufac-
turer got the cake too hard. I suspect
that he put parafine in it, but don't
know.
"At any rate, the cake is still there,
after it has been hanging out almost
two full months. All the other birds
have given it up, but the downy wood
pecker still comes, and is about the only
one, but he loves it, and his powerful
neck muscles and bill enable him to
get at the food.
Usually all see of him is his tail,
hanging down beneath, but even when
l pull aside the curtain to see If I
cannot see the rest of him. he does not
fly away, but keeps hammering at the
hard cake.
so far, all by himself, as far as I
can make out, he has cut away one
half OF it, leaving the inner half intact.
In another month or so probably he will
make away with the rest of it.
Il thought you would like to hear
about this bird, as he Is very faithful,
and beauty. have found that many
Of my friends do not know what I am
taking about when tell them about my
downy. Sincerely, M. J.P."
The downy woodpecker, smallest of
his family, is favorite of all bird
watchers.
Not more than 61a inches long, prac-
tically sparrow size, his upper parts are
black and white, and his lower white.
There is patch of red on the head of
the male.
The friendliness of the downy wood
pecker Is one of his chief characteristics.
He is not at all shy, and not afraid of
human beings.
Fear, regarded by ornithologists as
one of the main traits of all birds. has
been largely left out of this fellows
makeup.
He flies around to suit himself. and
will not dash away at the slightest move
ment from the house, as most species
do.
Observers who establish feeding
station near window soon learn to
approach very cautiously, so that the
feasters will not be frightened.
They discover that the least movement
OF a curtain will send them all flying.
A thin piece of cloth is best, one so
sheer that it is easy to see through it,
The downy, however, seldom minds
He pretends that he does not see the
observer. He is too busy with that
strong neck and bill
Suet cakes melted down and then per-
mitted to solidify, after mixture has
been poured in, sometimes grow too hard
for the birds to handle.
This Is usually due to ingredients in
corporated by the manufacturer in an
effort to make the cakes more easily
shipped and handled. Now and then
the cake becomes SO tough that few birds
can eat it.
This will not happen in home made
cake mixtures, If suet alone is used.
The downy woodpecker in some sec
tions has been called the little sap
sucker, which is erroneous, since this
bird is not g sapsucker, but a driller
He does great service for the trees
of America by cleaning up parasites.
Without him and his relatives, we would
have fewer good trees.
Various apple tree borers are located
by the downy, and promptly eaten, after
being dug out. Many od-boring
caterpillars fall to his Unsuitable appe-
tite. All In all, he is not only friendly
and handsome bird. but also very use
full one.