Speaking about toes! I have two in front and two behind. There are some Woodpeckers that have only three, two in front and one behind. It’s a fact, I assure you. I thought I would tell you about it before one of the three toed fellows got a chance to write to you about it himself.
I am not so shy and wary a bird as some people think I am. When I want an insect, or worm, I don’t care how many eyes are watching me, but up the tree I climb in my zigzag fashion, crying chaw-chaw, or chow-chow in a noisy sort of way. Sometimes I say chuck, chuck, chuck! The first is Chinese, and the last English, you know. You might think it sounded like the bark of a small dog, though.
I am fond of flies and catch them on the wing. I like ripe apples, too; and oh, what a good time I have in winter raiding the farmer’s corn crib! I have only to hammer at the logs with my sharp bill, and soon I can squeeze myself in between them and eat my fill. I understand the farmer doesn’t like it very much.
red-bellied woodpecker.
From col. Chi. Acad. Sciences. Copyrighted by
Nature Study Pub. Co., 1898, Chicago.