LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER. 359 
PICUS MINOR. 
LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER. 
(Puate 18.) L 
Picus varius minor, Briss. Orn. iy. p. 41 (1760). 
Picus minor, Linn, Syst. Nat.i.p.176 (1766) ; et auctorum plurimorum—Latham, 
Temminck, Naumann, Bonaparte, (Newton), Dresser, &e. 
Dendrocopus minor (Linn.), Koch, Syst. baier. Zool. p. 73 (1816). 
Dryobates minor (Linn.), Bote, Isis, 1828, p. 326, 
Picus hortorum, Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. p. 192 (1831). 
Picus striolatus, Macgill. Hist. Brit. B. iii. p. 86 (1840), 
Picus ledouci, Math. Mém. Acad. Roy. Metz, 2nd ser. ii. p. 242 (1842). 
Pipripicus minor (Linn.), Bonap. Consp. Vol. Zyg. p. 8 (1854), 
Xylocopus minor (Linn.), Cab. Mus. Hein. v. p. 51 (1863), 
In many parts of England the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker is a commoner 
bird than the Great Spotted Woodpecker. It is more often seen in small 
plantations ; but, strange to say, north of Yorkshire it is extremely rare, 
and it is doubtful if it breeds regularly in Scotland. ‘This is all the more 
remarkable, as on the continent its breeding-range extends at least 
250 miles further north than its larger congener. So far as is known, it 
is a resident wherever it is found, which will probably account for its 
having only once been obtained on the Orkneys and never having been 
seen in the Shetland Islands or on Heligoland. In Ireland it is of very 
rare occurrence, and has not been known to breed. 
The range of the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, like that of its larger ally, 
is Palearctic; but it extends somewhat further to the north and, except in 
the extreme west, not quite so far to the south. This species has not 
occurred in the Faroes; but in Scandinavia it breeds as far north as 
lat. 70°. In the forests of Archangel it is a very common resident, and 
breeds up to lat. 67° in the valleys of the Petchora and the Obb. It has 
not been observed further north than lat. 66° in the valley of the Yenesay ; 
and on the Pacific coast of Siberia it has not been found further north than 
lat. 55°; but as.it occurs in Kamtschatka it is probable also that it is found 
in lat. 60° in the intervening country. Strange to say, it is a resident in 
the Azores, but does not appear to be found in the Canaries. It breeds in 
most of the forests of Algeria, but has not been found in Egypt or Palestine. 
It is a resident throughout South Europe, but is not so abundant as further 
north. It is common in Asia Minor, but appears to be absent from Persia 
and Turkestan. It is found throughout the forest districts of South 
Siberia, Hast Mongolia, the island of Sakhalin, and the north island of 
Japan. As might be expected, throughout this extensive range various 
