126 THE GEEEN WOODPECKER. 



The tail consists of ten stiff-pointed feathers, and is al- 

 ways firmly applied to the tree when climbing, thus giving 

 great support to the spine, and enabling the bird to work 

 with power and precision. 



Let us now leave the structure, and consider some of the 

 bird's habits. 



To begin with that of nesting. 



As is well known to all, the woodpecker builds no nest, 

 but excavates a pear-shaped burrow, from one to two feet in 

 depth, in the interior of the trunk of a tree. At the bottom 

 of the burrow the female lays four or five gloss}- white eggs, 

 which are more or less pointed at one end. 



It has long been a disputed point whether the bird ever 

 attacks sound as well as decayed wood for nesting pur- 

 poses. Some go so far as to declare that no English wood- 

 pecker possesses a bill powerful enough to penetrate sound 

 timber. Observation, however, shows that the bird is amply 

 capable of accomplishing the task wdien any special advan- 

 tage is to be gained, although it shows a marked preference 

 for decaying trees under ordinary circumstances. It has 

 been well said, " The aged tree is everything to the wood- 

 pecker, and the woodpecker is everything to the aged tree." 

 This seems much more just than the following quotation : 

 "It is a great enemy to old trees, owing to the holes 

 which it digs in their trunks." 



The first nesting hole of the green woodpecker I ever 

 found was in a wood about eight miles distant from Clifton. 

 I was out with a friend on an egg-hunting expedition, and I 

 remember this as one of the most productive days we ever 

 had together. It was on the 2nd of June, 1888. Our 

 attention was first attracted by hearing a peculiar sound, 

 something between a laugh and a cry, frequently reiterated. 

 We soon espied the vociferous bird, and watched it from 



