104 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX. 



a female Sparrowhawk and a Jay at one shot, and a 

 second Jay with the other barrel. They were all 

 fighting on the ground, when he came upon them 

 suddenly, and three or four more Jays that were 

 in the melee escaped. 



Jays are very fond of fruit, and a correspondent 

 assures me that some of these birds used to visit his 

 garden at Muswell Hill regularly in the spring to 

 rob a damson-tree, and that they always took care 

 to come early in the morning. 



I 



Family Picid^. 



Green Woodpecker, Picus virldis. Although 

 this bird is generally throughout England styled 

 the Common Woodpecker, in the county of Middle- 

 sex the term is misapplied, for as a species it is not 

 so common as the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. It 

 is nowhere plentiful, even in those woods which are 

 strictly preserved, and where, consequently, it has a 

 better chance of increasing. 



It has been observed at Trent Park, Enfield, in 

 the woods at Hampstead, in Canon's Park, Edge- 

 ware, at Mill Hill, Stanmore, Brockley Hill, Harrow, 

 and Kingsbury, and in Wemble^^ Park. I have seen a 

 young bird in the spotted plumage which was shot in 

 Colin Deep Lane, Hendon, in the autumn of 1859. 

 Mr. Belfrage informs me that the Green Wood- 

 pecker used to breed regularly in the grounds of 



