CATALOGUE OF BIRDS, 323 



In reoard to the summer distribution of the 

 Bittern, Howard Saunders says that it extends 

 throughout the entire Palsearctic region from China 

 and Japan to the Azores, and is resident in the 

 warmer portions of Europe, where its numbers are 

 augmented in winter by visitors from the north. 



CASE 70. 



THE GREEN WOODPECKER. 



Order, Pica^'icr. Family, Picidce. 



This species is a good deal more common than its 

 congener, the Great Spotted Woodpecker, occurring 

 in wooded districts up to Lancashire and Yorkshire, 

 while there are very few authenticated records of it 

 from Scotland or Ireland. 



The power the Green Woodpecker possesses in 

 his bill is simply marvellous ; with it he is able to 

 hack out of hard wood a hole penetrating far 

 into the trunk of a tree, and this is what he does 

 before depositing any eggs. Howard Saunders 

 says: "The hole is bored till the heart is reached, 

 and then turns downwards for a short distance, 

 when it is enlarged to form a suitable receptacle for 

 the five to seven pure glossy-white eggs," etc. 



This bird climbs obliquely up the trees in short 

 jerks, using his tail feathers to aid him, and all the 

 time he is ascending he makes a point of looking 

 round the trunk, first this side, then that, to make 



