94 



LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER. 



therefore more numerous than is generally supposed. To those 

 who are familiar with bird notes, the " gick, gick, gick," of the Pied 

 Woodpecker, as it is sometimes called, will not infrequently be 

 heard. Selby's view in 1883 is greatly confirmed. He believed 

 that they are migratory from some of the more northern parts of 

 Europe— perhaps Norway and Sweden. They arrive about the 

 same time as the Woodcock and other equatorial migrants, and 

 generally after stormy weather from the north or north-east. 



DENDROCOPUS MINOR— Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. 



The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, though not abundant in 

 Herefordshire, is yet not a rare bird, and it is one widely dis- 

 tributed throughout the county. It is probably more abundant than 

 is generally supposed, for it is a quiet, shy little bird, fond of tall 

 trees, and instantly conceals itself on the side most distant from 

 the intruder. Its cry is often mistaken for that of the Wryneck, 

 which it resembles, except that it is all on one note, whereas that 

 of the Wryneck rises in the musical scale. Many of these pretty 

 little birds were killed by the severe winter of i88o-r, but in several 

 instances on the outskirts of the city, and in other places in the 

 county, they joined the motley group, which at that time owed their 

 lives to the charity of those who did not forget to feed them in 

 their distress. 



A lady at Shobdon, who had a number of little pensioners for 

 her bounty during a hard frost, was rewarded by the presence of 

 one of these pretty lively little birds, which came to her window-sill 

 for several months, to feed on the crumbs and scraps so thoughtfully 

 provided. 



The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker generally chooses a broken 

 off branch to perforate for its nest ; from one to two feet from the 

 end it bores the hole on the under side, which extends about a 



