GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER. 171 



old and more or less decayed timber ; in larch and fir 

 plantations, in the fringe of trees by the water-side, and 

 in well-wooded agricultural districts. This Woodpecker 

 appears also to pair for life, yet only lives in close 

 company with its mate during the breeding season. 

 Season by season, in many cases, the same nesting-place 

 is tenanted. The nest-hole is generally dug out of a 

 branch or tree-trunk by the parent birds, but occasion- 

 ally a cavity already made is taken possession of, and 

 enlarged or not according to circumstances. This shaft 

 is made in a precisely similar manner to that of the 

 other species, descending from a few inches to a foot or 

 more into the timber, and being somewhat enlarged at 

 the bottom into a chamber, where the eggs are laid. No 

 nest of any kind is made, and the eggs lie on the soft 

 powdered wood at the bottom of the shaft. The birds 

 are close sitters, undemonstrative, and usually make no 

 attempt to leave their charge until lifted from the &%%^. 



Range of egg colouration and measurement : 

 The eggs of the Great Spotted Woodpecker are from 

 five to eight in number. They are white, with a faint 

 yellowish or creamy tinge, and entirely spotless. Average 

 measurement, i"0 inch in length, by 78 inch in breadth. 

 Incubation, performed by both sexes, lasts from fourteen 

 to sixteen days. 



Diagnostic characters : The eggs of the Great 

 Spotted Woodpecker are best distinguished by their size 

 and creamy tinge. They cannot readily be confused with 

 those of the other Woodpeckers breeding in our islands. 

 Those of the Dipper most nearly resemble them, but 

 the rougher texture and unpolished surface, together 

 with the very different nest, prevent much chance of 

 confusion. 



