276 BRITISH BIRDS. [vol. vii. 



Madeley Vicarage, Staffordshire, to feed on the berries of the 



Pyracanthus growing against a wall of his house. The winter of 



1890-1 was a severe one, and the bird was probably driven to feed 



on these berries owing to lack of insect -food, and this was no doubt 



the case with Mr. Gillman's bird. The cutting down of our woods,» 



and especially the clearing away of decaying trees in recent years^ 



is the cause of the diminution in numbers of the Woodpeckers in 



many districts. I find that Yarrell and other authorities mention 



hazel-nuts and acorns as food of these birds. 



J. R. B. Masefield. 

 Cheadle, Staffs., January I'lth, 1914. 



To the Editors of British Birds. 



Sirs, — ^In reference to Mr. Arthur Gillman's letter {supra, p. 242) 

 describing the eating of apples by Green Woodpeckers, T think the 

 following may prove of some interest : — 



In the early part of this autumn I noticed, on several occasions, 

 a Great Spotted Woodpecker [Dryobates m. anglicus) in a crab-apple 

 tree. One day I walked up to the tree and found the ground at 

 the base of the trunk, and not further out, littered with crab-apples, 

 all of which had been split in half and the pips extracted, but the 

 fruit itself not eaten. A possible explanation is, I think, that the 

 Great Spotted ^^'oodpeckers had taken the apples and then, whilst 

 holding them against the tree-trunk, had split them, extracted he 

 pips, and then dropped the fruit. 



I know, from keeping these birds in an aviary, that ^\\ey will fly 



away with food, such as a biscuit, and hold it between their bodies 



and a tree-trmik or a branch, while they break it up and eat it. 



Philip Gosse. 

 Beaulieu, Hants., January \st, 1914. 



HERRIXG-GULLS DIVING. 



To the Editors of British Birds. 



Sirs, — Referring to what is said on this subject in the last two 



issues of British Birds, I suppose is is scarcely necessary to point 



out to yiur readers, resident in London, that the Black-headed Gulls 



(adult and immature) now frequenting the water opposite Buckingham 



Palace may often be seen to dive in the manner described, by Mr. S. G. 



Cummings, except that these Gulls do not submerge the tips of their 



primaries. 



Gregory Haines. 

 Arthog, near Dolgelly, January Qth, 1914. 



