152 An OrnitJiological Visit to Warwickshire. [Sess. 



suit, so that the only mode of observing tliein reasonably near 

 at hand is to sit quietly in one spot for an hour or two, on 

 the chance of their working round in the direction of the 

 place of concealment. What, perhaps, induces their slaughter 

 as much as any other motive, is the circumstance that the 

 blue feathers on the sides of the wings are much prized by 

 the fishing community for dressing fly-hooks ; but this prac- 

 tice can hardly be characterised by any milder epithet than 

 that of cruelty, as it really seems a wanton act to kill orna- 

 mental birds of this kind for the sake of luring a few trout 

 out of a stream. 



Among the rarer birds found in Warwickshire which may 

 be glanced at slightly in conclusion are the woodpecker, king- 

 fisher, goldfinch, and hawfinch. Of the former tribe, the green 

 woodpecker is the commonest, although the greater and lesser 

 spotted species are also found occasionally ; but unfortunately 

 I failed to get even a glimpse of any, notwithstanding that 

 the loud laughing sound could be distinctly heard in the 

 silence of the woods. This failure must be attributed to want 

 of acquaintance with the bird's peculiar habits, as its sliyness 

 and cunning are great, being proverbial in some parts of 

 England. It always manages, as a rule, to keep on the other 

 side of the tree from the observer ; and while you are earnestly 

 scanning the trunks in the direction from which the sound 

 proceeds, the bird has quietly flown off to a distance, only to 

 give vent to another laugh, which seems to be indulged in as 

 if in derision at your non-success. It is impossible to mis- 

 take the cry of tlie woodpecker ; but it is quite another matter 

 to describe- the same so as to render it recognisable to a 

 stranger. Perhaps the nearest approach in the way of com- 

 parison is to liken it to the laugh of a horse on a subdued 

 scale. In spring the missel-thrush makes a clucking sound, 

 somewhat resembling that of the present species; but no prac- 

 tised ear can possibly be deceived by it, as there is a fulness 

 and big-raouthedness about the cry of the woodpecker that 

 stamps its individuality at once. The strangest feature about 

 the Picidce is the length of their tongues, which, when in use, 

 or when pulled out of a dead specimen, look like a long worm, 

 this elongated member being, as is well known, hard and bony 

 at the point — a wise provision on the part of Providence to 



