PICIN.E. 



263 



THE GREEN WOODPECKER. 

 Gecinus vi'ridls (Linn:eus). 



This largest and best known of our British Woodpeckers occurs 

 in most of the wooded districts of England as far as Derbyshire 

 and the south of Yorkshire, north of which it becomes rare ; 

 and is only occasionally found breeding in Durham, Northumber- 

 land and Cumberland. Across the Solway it is said to have 

 been killed in Kirkcudbrightshire, but other records from Scot- 

 land require confirmation. In Ireland — where all the Wood- 

 peckers are uncommon — this species has only twice been obtained 

 up to the present time. Even in England it is often unaccount- 

 ably local ; and while in some districts it has decreased of late 

 years without any assignable reason, it has, on the other hand, 

 recently become diffused in every direction about the Land's-End 

 district in the extreme west of Cornwall, without reference to tree 

 or woodlands (Rodd). 



In Norway the Green Woodpecker breeds in the forests up to 

 about 63" N. lat. ; but in Sweden and in the islands of the Baltic it 

 does not range so far north ; again in Russia it is very rare about 



