258 THE BIRDS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



Family PICID.^. Woodpeckers. 

 Great Spotted Woodpecker. Dryobates major (Linn.). 



As a species the Great Spotted or Pied Woodpecker (Plate 

 104) is distributed throughout Europe and northern Asia, but 

 it is spht into a number of geographical races, two of which 

 occur in Britain. The Northern Great Spotted Woodpecker 

 is a winter visitor, occasionally appearing in considerable 

 numbers ; the resident British form, D, m. angliciis (Hart.), is 

 a smaller bird, with a less powerful bill and shorter wings. It 

 nests in England and Wales, though nowhere in large numbers, 

 and sparingly in southern Scotland, where it is extending its 

 range. It is uncertain if it occurs in Ireland ; probably the few 

 which have been recorded are referable to the Northern form. 



The Pied Woodpecker is an inhabitant of the woodlands and 

 parks, depending for food and nesting sites upon old timber. 

 It is a retiring, inconspicuous bird, in spite of the plumage, but 

 when seen in flight has a " cobby " appearance, owing to the 

 shortness of its stiff-feathered tail ; whether in flight or when 

 at rest the large white shoulder patch is a feature that catches 

 the eye. From the smaller Barred Woodpecker it may always 

 be distinguished by the crimson on the abdomen, and even 

 when colours are not visible its inferior size separates it from 

 the Green Woodpecker. When hidden by the foliage its 

 presence is often advertised by the mechanical " call," a loud 

 vibrating rattle, produced by the rapidly repeated blows of its 

 strong bill upon a trunk or branch. This is not merely a 

 nuptial call or challenge, but a " watchword " or signal of either 

 sex ; it may be stimulated by a mere desire to coriimunicate or 

 by excitement ; doubtless it represents the Woodpecker's song. 

 It is audible from a great distance, depending, however, upon 

 the wind and the condition of the wood, a hollow bough 

 naturally producing a louder note than living wood. Probably 



