444 



PICARIAN' BIRDS 



the stems for cavities, works c^radually upwards, supported in part by 

 the closely pressed tail-feathers, keeping always on the opposite side 

 of the stem to that approached by an intruder, although occasionally 

 peering round to see how matters are going. The nest-chamber is 



excavated deep into some par- 

 tially decayed trunk, often at no 

 great distance from the ground, 

 and with a small, nearly circular 

 entrance. Occasionally wood- 

 peckers start to work on a stem 

 too sound to be excavated, and 

 have to give up the task : although 

 the old nest- hole is sometimes 

 used for several years in succes- 

 sion, more commonly a fresh one 

 is made each year. Apparently 

 the female comes out to feed 

 during the brooding-season. The 

 eggs, of which there are usually 

 from five to seven in a clutch, 

 measure i^ inches or rather more 

 in length, and are commonly laid 

 in May, although sometimes not 

 hatched till well on in June. 

 After the breeding-season the two members of a pair separate to lead 

 solitary lives. In addition to insects, spiders, and grubs, it is said that 

 these woodpeckers will crack nuts and acorns to feed on their kernels. 



TAII, AM) FOOT OF GRKKN WooDl'l.l K\:\<. 



Great Spotted 



Woodpecker 



(Dendroeopus 



major). 



As contrasted with the green species, the most 

 obvious distinction of the great spotted woodpecker 

 and its relatives is the pied plumage of the latter — 

 a feature doubtless connected, as already mentioned, 

 with the more completely arboreal life of these birds. 

 The present species is characteri.sed not only by its large size (length 

 about gl inches in males and rather less in females), but also by the 

 white markings being restricted above to the head and wings. On the 

 head the white crosses the forehead, and running round each side of 

 the head forms a large patch on the face, cut off by a narrow black 

 bar from another patch on the side of the neck ; the scapulars are 

 wholly white ; the wing-quills are checjuercd with, the same on their 

 outer webs; and the under-parts are uniforml)- white, with the 



