1go OUR BIRD ALLIES. 
be subservient to habit. And ow admirably the 
natural advantages of the woodpecker suit it for its 
peculiar labours can be testified by all who have ever 
watched the bird in its native woods. In some 
mysterious manner it detects the exact whereabouts 
of its hidden prey, even when no external burrow 
gives evidence of their presence, and sets busily to 
work, chipping away at the bark and the decaying 
wood beneath, and never failing to extract its quarry 
in triumph. During the breeding season, too, it 
excavates a cavity for its nest in just the same manner, 
always choosing a diseased spot for the purpose, how- 
ever, and so benefiting instead of injuring the tree 
selected for its home. 
Several of these valuable birds are found in Great 
Britain, the most interesting, perhaps, being the Great 
Spotted Woodpecker, which, although scarcely an 
abundant species, 1s yet fairly common in many parts 
of the country. 
The Rev. C. A. Johns, in his work on ‘“ British 
Birds in their Haunts,” quotes from the Zoo/logist, 
vol, vill., p. 3,115, the following remarks :— 
‘In 1849 a considerable number of trees were cut 
down in an open part of the country near Melbourne 
(Derby), which were eventually drawn together and 
piled in lots. ‘These lay for some time, and were 
visited almost daily by great spotted woodpeckers. 
Their habits and manners were very amusing, espe- 
cially whilst searching for food. ‘They alighted on 
the timber, placed the body in a particular position, 
generally with the head downward, and commenced 
