Bird list?

Sent from my iPhone

> On Jan 18, 2021, at 10:39 AM, Ted Levin <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
> 7:18 a.m. 30 degrees, wind WSW 5 mph. Sky: gray, a reluctant sun, strands
> of pink. Light, small-grained snow, more than a flurry, less than a
> snowfall. Even though *no two snowflakes look alike,* this alleged storm
> might only have inspired Wilson Snowflake Bentley. Intermittent streams:
> springlike flow, a muted whisper. Permanent streams: slightly less water,
> much less ice, volume up, a hypnotic broadcast. Dogs know when it's time to
> sit and groom. Wetlands: marsh through a snow-screen, spruce and hemlock
> edged in white, a filagree of snow. Pines not so much—needles too long,
> branches too widely spaced. Pond: a peaceful rerun of the past five days.
> 
> Ruffed grouse crossed the road, one foot after the other, a straight line
> of delicate chicken tracks. Deer leaped the lower stream. Coyote traces the
> road. Chickadees at the neighbors. Jays in the front yard. Ernie, the
> Hungarian partridge, missing for days. No sign of *fowl* play.
> 
> A male pileated (red of crest extends below eyes) disembowels a pine—soft
> taps and chips, flying bits of wood just off the driveway. Stops. Chases a
> hairy woodpecker, which squeals, hits the high notes. Pileated returns to
> pine, claws dug in—two toes in front, two behind—stiff tail pressed to
> bark. Leans back and hammers . . . crested head a blur. No concussion here.
> A spongy cranium (*cancellous* bone), a shock-absorber at the upper
> mandible base, consumes the blow. A slightly longer lower mandible strikes
> wood first, directing the force of each blow to another spongy bone (*hyoid*),
> which anchors the elastic tongue.
> 
> Humans evolved to pound with feet, to run almost forever. Woodpeckers with
> jackhammer bills. End result: everybody gets a good night's sleep.