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quite a channing pet and very tame. I have found this 

 taineness of the Woodpeckers quite a .striking feature ; 

 and have known them so tame that they would call to 

 one a note of welcome and recognition, and, when let out 

 of the cage, delight in running over their owner's 

 shoulders and even follow him about the house. The 

 Lesser Spotted will thrive capitally on such food as is 

 given to most of our smaller insectivorous birds in 

 captivity. This delightful and quaint little fellow, our 

 smallest Woodpecker, is very similar in appearance to 

 the Greater Spotted, but the crimson patch which the 

 male possesses is larger in proportion, and found on the 

 crown of the head instead of at the nape. 



The Green Woodpecker [Gecinus viridus), known 

 localh' as Hewbird, Rain-bird, Popinjay, etc., when full 

 grown is nearh' as large as a pigeon, and of a dull sap 

 green colour above, shading to a pretty rich yellow 

 toward the tail and under the body. The red markings, 

 which are a distinctive mark of sex in our English 

 species, are in this, our largest Woodpecker, of a duller 

 colour, which I have heard described as carmine. In 

 addition to the crown marking, which both sexes possess, 

 (the hen in a less degree as to both size and brightness), 

 the male has a red moustachial mark at the base of each 

 cheek. This latter mark is found in the female, but the 

 colour of the feathers in her case is black, not red. 



The haunts of the Woodpeckers, whether Spotted or 

 Green, are similar. Forest, wood, park and orchard, being 

 of necessit}' their abode, as their food is obtained almost 

 entirely from the trees : their long wonderful tongue, 

 with its hardened tip, picking up insects incessantly. 

 They build their nests in a hollow, tunnelled in a tree 

 showing signs of decay. The eggs are from four to 

 eight in number and of a white colour. They are 

 deposited at the terminal end of the tunnel, which is 

 there rounded out and made larger to furnish sufiicient 

 room for the 3'oung family. 



The flight of the Green Woodpecker is certainly 

 heavy and perhaps awkward, and I have no doubt many 



