16 



frequently takes possession of the nests of the House and Sand Martin, 

 driving away the rightful occupants. Four to six eggs (see British 

 Bird Egg Cabinet, drawer 4) are laid, and, two, often three, broods 

 are reared during the season. 



Case 147. 



LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER (Dendrocopus minor). 



A resident species, much more rarely seen than the Great Spotted 

 Woodpecker, owing to its small size and partiality for high trees, but 

 it is fairly common in many parts, especially in the southern half of 

 England. The food consists almost entirely of timber-haunting insects. 

 The nest-hole is usually made in the branches of tall trees, but some- 

 times at more moderate elevations, or in pollard willows and hornbeams. 

 Six or seven white eggs (see British Bird Egg Cabinet, drawer 6) are 

 laid at the bottom on the bare wood, about the middle of May. 



Case 148. 



WRYNECK {lynx torquilla). 



Local names : Long-tongue, Cuckoo's Mate or Cuckoo's Leader. 



This spring visitor, formerly numerous but now somewhat rare, 

 arrives in England towards the end of March or beginning of April. 

 It is rarely met with in Scotland, except during the autumn migration, 

 and only accidental stragglers are known in Ireland. It frequents 

 orchards and open parks rather than forest districts. It feeds mainly 

 on insects, especially ants and their larvte. The common name 

 " Wryneck " is derived from its singular habit of twisting and stretching 

 its neck. About the middle of May, convenient holes in hollow trees 

 are used in which to deposit the eggs, white in coloui', and from six to 

 ten in number (see British Bird Egg Cabinet, drawer 6). 



^2ase 149 



TREE-CREEPER {Certhia faniiliaris). 



A resident species generally distributed throughout the British 

 Islands, but locally it is becoming rarer than formerly. Its long curved 

 claws and stiff-pointed tail feathers enable it to ascend the trunks and 

 branches of trees with ease and rapidity as it searches for the spiders 

 and other insects on which it feeds. The nest is made of roots, grass 

 and moss, lined with wool, feathers, etc., and it is usually concealed 

 under partially detached bark or in a cleft in the bole of a tree, but 

 occasionally it is found under the eaves of a shed or dwelling or in some 

 similar situation. Six to nine white eggs, spotted with light red and 

 pale lavender (see British Bird Egg Cabinet, drawer 3), are laid about 

 the end of April and two broods are reared in a season. 



