SCANSORIiE. 329 



stomach is nearly membranous, and they have no cseca, still they also 

 eat fruit. Fearful and wary, they pass most of their time in a soli- 

 tary manner, but during the nuptial season they may frequently be 

 heard summoning their females by loud and rapid tapping on a dry 

 branch. They build once a year in holes of trees, and each sex alter- 

 nately broods upon the eggs until they are hatched. There are six 

 or seven species in Europe. 



P. martins, L.; Grand Pic noir; Enl. 596; Naum. 131. (The 

 Great Black Woodpecker.) Almost as large as a Crow, and 

 entirely black; a beautiful red forms a calotte in the male, but 

 a mere spot on the occiput in the female. It prefers the pine 

 forests of the North, 



P. viridis; Pic vert; Enl. 371; Naum. 132. (The Green 

 Woodpecker.) Size of a turtle-dove; green above; whitish be- 

 neath; the calotte red; rump, yellow; one of the most beautiful 

 birds of Europe. The young are marked with black spots be- 

 neath, and with white ones on the mantle. It prefers inhabiting 

 the woodland plains, and is partial to the beech and elm. It 

 also seeks food on the ground. 



P, canus, Gm. ; Edw. 65; Naum. 133. A species closely 

 allied to the preceding, but smaller, more of an ash colour, the 

 beak more slender, and with a black moustache. The only red 

 about the male is on the top of the head, and there is none on 

 the female. It is not found far to the south, and is* more rarely 

 seen in France than the preceding, of whose habits it partakes. 

 Its favourite food consists of ants. 



P. major; VEpciche; Enl. 196, the male, 595, the female; 

 Naum. 134. (The Great Spotted Woodpecker.) Size of a 

 Thrush, varied with black and white above; black back and 

 rump; white beneath; red about the vent; a spot of the same 

 colour on the occiput of the male. The calotte of the young 

 bird is almost wholly red; it prefers evergreen trees, frequently 

 approaches our dwellings, but never lights on the ground. 



P. medius; Moyen Epeiche; Enl. 611; Naum. 136, f. 1 and 2. 

 Somewhat less; the whole calotte red in both sexes; rump, 

 black; under part of the tail, reddish. Inhabits temperate and 

 southern Europe. 



P. minor; Petit Epeiche; Enl. 598; Naum. 136, f. 2 and 3. 

 (The Little Spotted Woodpecker.) Size of a Finch; varie- 

 gated with black and white above; greyish-white beneath; some 

 red on the head of the male only. From the north and middle 

 of Europe. It is asserted that it searches for ants on foot; but 

 Naumann assures us that such is not the fact. 

 P. leuconotos, Bechst. ; Naum. 135. A spotted Woodpecker 

 Vol. I. 2R 



