1. Keep a sharp lookout for chickadees. Can you tell one when you see it? They are often with nuthatches and downy woodpeckers. If you tie a piece of suet in a tree near your house these winter birds may visit you. 2. Listen to the notes of all the winter birds. Some day you will hear one say "Chick-a-dee-dee-dee-dee." Then he may sing "phoe-be," and you will try to imitate the notes. He may answer you. Tell us how near you can get to one of these friendly little birds. 3. Watch a chickadee searching for his breakfast on a twig. What kind of a bill has he? What do you think he is finding to eat? 4. If I lived on a farm I should have suet hung in my orchard to encourage the chickadees to stay there. Can you tell why? 5. Do you see chickadees in summer? Where are they then? 6. If I were to ask you to find a deserted chickadee's nest, where would you look? LEAFLET LXVII. THE FAMILY OF WOODPECKERS.[85] BY ALICE G. MCCLOSKEY. (Compare Leaflet XXIV.) [85] Junior Naturalist Monthly, January, March, April, and May, 1903. I. THE RED-HEADED WOODPECKER. [Illustration] The story goes that, once upon a time, a naturalist found a great many grasshoppers wedged into an old fencepost. They were alive but could not get away. Bye and bye their jailor appeared. He was neither somber nor ugly, as you might suppose, but a merry red-headed woodpecker. With never a thought of cruelty in his little red head, he had used the fencepost as a cold-storage place, and had filled it with a good supply of food. Now I am sure our boys and girls will ask, "Is this story true?" I cannot say. The best way to decide whether it may be true is to study the habits of a red-headed woodpecker. Do you think that we shall find him capable of so clever a trick? The red-head is not uncommon. Keep on the lookout for him. His head, neck, throat, and upper breast are red; the rest of his body is blue-black and white. He is a handsome fellow, a bright bit of color in wood, garden, orchard, or field. Let us see what we can learn about him. SUGGESTIONS. 1. Try to get a nearer view of any bird that you see sitting on a telegraph pole or fencepost. It may be a red-headed woodpecker. 2. Is this little fellow as good a drummer as his relatives? 3. His mate likes his music. If she comes near, the better to hear him drum, notice whether she has a red head. 4. Do you find beech-nuts or other food stored in decayed trees? Under a bit of raised bark? In cracks in bark? In gate posts? If so, a red-head may be about. 5. These woodpeckers eat more grasshoppers than any of the others. Find out whether they eat them on the ground. 6. Have you ever seen one fly into the air after a passing insect? [Illustration: _Fig. 324. The red-headed woodpecker._] 7. Do red-headed woodpeckers ever visit your chicken yard? Watch them closely and find out why they are there. 8. Do you see them later in the year eating fruit on your farm?