Through the Woods: A natural beauty

This small songbird can be heard happily chattering away even during the coldest of winter days. It is a creature of tall timbered woodlands and swamps. It is a woodpecker that chips out holes in trees that have died. The hole selected to raise its young will usually be over 30 feet up.

Woodpeckers will "drill" into the sides of old snags in search of insects to eat. In the process, holes are created in snags that become winter retreats for other small birds and climbing animals.

The bird shown here is called a red-bellied woodpecker. It is sometimes mistaken for the less common red-headed woodpecker. It is possibly the most beneficial bird in the Southeast Missouri forest. Its diet is mainly wood-boring insects, but it also eats other insects, berries and seeds.

Horrell is an artist and outdoorsman. He lives in Chaffee. He owns Painted Wren Art Gallery in Cape Girardeau.