LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER. 26 1 



pecker is often overlooked, but if sighted on a trunk it may at 

 once be identified by the broad barring on the wings and 

 narrower bars across the lower back. Its habits are very 

 similar to those of the Pied Woodpecker, and it has the same 

 stumpy appearance, almost triangular, when bounding from tree 

 to tree. Its note is a repeated keek^ loud for so small a bird, 

 and its vibrating rattle cannot with certainty be distinguished 

 from that of the larger species. This substitute for a song may 

 be heard at all times, but most frequently when, early in the 

 year, courtship begins. The Barred Woodpecker is not known 

 to feed frequently on fruits, nuts or other vegetable substances, 

 but its insect food is similar to that of the Pied ; it is just as 

 useful in attacking the larvse of Rhagiiiin and the bark-boring 

 Scoly tides ^ as well as the larvae of wood-leopards and clear wing 

 moths. It will also hack out the grub of Cyiiips kolla7'i from 

 the marble-gall. When hunting for wood-boring larvae it chips 

 away the rotten wood, and the litter at the foot of a tree is 

 often the first indication that upper branches are attacked by 

 insects. At night it roosts in old holes, a habit certainly at 

 times shared by the Pied Woodpecker, though recent writers 

 state that it may sleep clinging to a bole. 



A litter of chips is also a guide to a nesting hole, for the bird 

 does not always carry these away when excavating. The hole 

 is usually at a considerable height above the ground and may 

 be so high as 30 or 40 feet ; it is a smaller burrow than that of 

 the Pied, measuring from. \\ to 2 inches in diameter. The shaft 

 varies, the nesting cavity being often a foot or more below the 

 entrance. Five to eight highly polished white eggs (Plate 116) 

 are laid upon wood dust and chips in the latter half of May, 

 and a single brood is the rule. Both birds help to incubate, 

 but it is not certain that the male assists in preparing the hole. 

 Occasionally an old or natural hollow is used or enlarged. 



The male has a crimson crown, a brown forehead, a black 

 superciliary stripe, and another from the base of the bill to the 



