298 



PICIDiE. 



insectivorous birds. They have an advantage over ahnost 

 every other kind of food thus exposed, that they are not 

 liable to be appropriated, as scraps of meat and bread are, 

 by f)rowling cats and dogs. A walnut, susjjended from the 

 bough of a tree by a string, will soon attract the notice of 

 some inquisitive Tit, and, when once detected, wiU not fail 

 to receive the visits of all birds of the same family which 

 frequent the neighbonrhood. A more amusing pendulum 

 can scarcely be devised. To ensure the s-uccess of the 

 exf)eriment, a small portion of the shell should be removed. 



THE LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER. 



PICUS MINOR. 



Forehead and lower parts dirty white ; crown bright red ; nape, back, and wings 

 black, with white bars ; tail black, the outer feathers tipped witli white and 

 barred with black ; iris red. Length five inches and a lialf, breadth twelve 

 inches. Eggs glossy Avhite. 



This handsome little bird resembles its congeners so closely, 

 both in structure and habits, that it scarcely needs a 



