264 GREEN WOODPECKER. 



St. Petersburg, nor is it common in the forests of the central pro- 

 vinces, but this or a subspecies is abundant in the Caucasus. In 

 Denmark it is scarce, and in Heligoland it has only once been 

 taken ; but southward it is generally distributed throughout the rest 

 of Europe down to Turkey, as well as in Asia Minor and North 

 Persia ; in Greece, however, it is very local ; in Sardinia and Corsica 

 it is unknown ; and in Sicily it is rare, although common on the 

 mainland of Italy. In the Pyrenees it is abundant, but in Portugal 

 and the southern half of Spain — and probably throughout the 

 whole of the Peninsula — the representative species is the grey-faced 

 G. s/tarpii, which unites our bird to G. vaillanti of North Africa 

 (with no red on the moustache of the male), and, less closely, to 

 G. canus of the Continent (the male of which has little red on the 

 head, while the female has none). 



Early in April a neat circular hole is hewn in a trunk or branch, 

 generally of some tree whose wood, like that of the beech, is soft, 

 though not necessarily decayed; the excavation running horizontally 

 till the heart is reached, and then turning downwards for a short dis- 

 tance, when it is enlarged to form a suitable receptacle for the eggs, 

 from 5-7 in number. These are of a pure glossy white, slightly pyri- 

 form in shape: average measurements i'3 by "88 in. The discarded 

 chips of wood are rarely removed from the vicinity, and often serve 

 to indicate the position of the nest ; new holes being usually made 

 every season, while those of former years are used as sleeping- 

 places. The note most frequently heard is the loud laughing 

 pleu^ pleu, pleu, popularly supposed to foretell rain, for which reason 

 ' Rainbird' is a common name in some parts ; as are ' Yaffle ' and 

 'Woodweele.' In search of timber-haunting beetles, spiders and 

 other insects, this Woodpecker may be seen climbing obliquely up 

 some trunk or branch with short jerking movements, assisted by the 

 stiff-pointed feathers of the tail, until, on arriving at the top, it 

 passes with dipping flight to some other tree ; it also feeds to a 

 great extent on ants in summer, and on other ground-insects 

 during the great part of the year, while it has been said to eat nuts 

 and acorns. 



The upper plumage of the male is chiefly olive-green, shading into 

 yellow on the rump ; under parts pale greyish-green ; crown, nape and 

 moustaches crimson; lores and cheeks black. Length 12 in.; wing 

 6'4 in. The female has less crimson on the head, and the mous- 

 taches are black. In the young the under parts are barred ; the 

 nestling is mottled on the back and profusely spotted with arrow- 

 headed markings on the under parts. 



