Do its movements reveal energy or listlessness?
How does it move up a tree trunk?
How does it move down a tree trunk?
Find out how it can hold so firmly to the trunk.
Does it use its sharp beak as a drill or as a pick?
To the teacher.—The downy is spotted black and white, with barred wings and a white line down the centre of the back. A bright scarlet crown is the colour distinction of the male. This little bird is the embodiment of energy and perseverance. It hops nimbly up the trunk, tapping here and there with its beak, and then listening for the movements of the disturbed wood-borers. If it wishes to descend, it wastes no time in turning around, but hops backward down the trunk, or jumps off and flies down.
II
Examine an apple tree upon which a downy has been at work and find out what it was doing there.
Do you find the birds in pairs during winter? During summer? Distinguish the male from the female.
Tie a beef bone with scraps of meat adhering to it to a tree. What birds come to it?