PICID^. 43 



which it resides the whole of the year. All game- 

 keepers I have ever known destroy the Jay whenever 

 it crosses their path, as these birds are supposed to 

 eat eggs and young pheasants. Except with game 

 preservers, the Jay is an universal pet, and can be 

 taught to talk and imitate sounds, such as the 

 mewing of a cat or the barking of a dog. 



Mr. G. W. Edgington, surgeon, of Binfield, Berk- 

 shire, sent Mr. Yarrell a communication to the effect 

 that he had, at the time of writing, a male Jay which 

 became an excellent mimic before it was twelve 

 months old. The calling of the fowls to their food, 

 and the noises made by the latter, were given in 

 perfection, and this interesting bird was able to 

 mimic the barking of the house-dog exactly. 



Tribe — SCANSORES. Family — PiciD/E. 



Green Woodpecker {Piais viridis). Local 

 names. Yaffle, Yaffil, Hew-Hole, Pick-a-tree, and 

 Woodpie. Our commonest Woodpecker. It is one 

 of pur handsomest birds, and does an immense deal 

 of good by feeding upon ants and their eggs, and 

 various insects. 



•I have occasionally observed these birds in Ditton 

 Park, and it is a common species in Windsor Forest, 

 near Cookham, in Langley Park, at Cliefden, and 

 near Wantage ; further north it is not so numerous. 

 The Rev. H. Harpur Crewe, an excellent ornitho- 



