8G The Or ecu Woodpecker. 



" the trencht's and in No Man's Land I have seen fair sized 

 " covies of partridge, White and Tawny Owls, and many 

 '■ Kestrels, no doubt attracted by tJie numbers of rats and mice, 

 " but I was greatly surprised to see so shy a bird as the 

 "Green Woodpecker right up at the pe:p->tually shelled village 

 "of Rollincourt. He Hew from tree to tree whilst shells burst 

 "at intervals about the place — InU he didn't lauifh ! — O. 

 " Murray Dixon." 



It is amidst very different surroundings from these that 

 we see and admire this handsome bird, and some of us know 

 him as an interesting cage pet or occupant of an aviary; as 

 the lat/er the writer has seen and admired ihim in the aviaries of 

 Major Johnson and Dr. Gosse, in both places he made himself 

 quite at home, doing no material damage to the woodwork, 

 confining his woodcutting propensities principally to the short 

 tree trunks fixed in the ground for his use. Under such con- 

 ditions no one could wish for or have a more beautiful occu- 

 pant for a suitably fitted aviary, rivalling as he does in his 

 many hued garment the gaily-clad feathered deni..ens of 

 tropical climes. He does not show off so well in a cage, 

 unless it be a roomy one indeed, for he is somewhat clumsy 

 in movement when in conhned quarters, but in an aviary, 

 with other species, he is a creature of grace, elegance and 

 beauty, a continual source of interest and pleasure. 



He is not difficult to cater for. d(nng well '>n any 

 good make of ins€c:tile mixture— a good one is readily made 

 of crushed dog biscuit and ants' eggs in' equal parts 'J'hei 

 two ingreaients are oest Kept sei)arate ; well soak the crushed 

 biscuit, and then mix in "an equal proportion of ants' eggs. 

 Give in addition a few mealworms, and any other insects ob- 

 tainable. 



Hand-reared birds are best, and if nestlings can be 

 obtained at about ten days old, feeding them for the first 

 few days (about a 'week), on live insects, such as ants' cocoons, 

 mealworms, spiders, beetles (cut up), wasp grub, in fact 

 almost any larvae and pupae obtainable. Preserved ants' eggs 

 free from rubbish, soaked and then dried in a piece of linen, 

 will answer if live (fresh) ones are not obtainable. After- 



