17 



Case 150. 



GREATER SPOTTED WOODPECKER {Dendrocopus major). 



A sparsely distributed resident, chiefly frequenting our fir woods 

 Though it is generally distributed over Great Britain, but few examples 

 have been recorded from Ireland. It is usually found in the highest 

 branches of trees, feeding on insects and their larvse, as well as on 

 berries and nuts, but owing to its retiring nature and colour protection 

 it frequently escapes observation. In April, a circular hole is hewn 

 by the birds in the trunk or branch of some tree, a dead one by pre- 

 ference, and within the stem a chamber is excavated for the reception 

 of the eggs. These are white (see British Bird Egg Cabinet, drawer 6), 

 five to seven in number, and are deposited in the bare wood about the 

 middle of May. 



Case 151. 



GREEN WOODPECKER {Gecinus viridis). 

 Local names : Hey hough or Yaffle. 



The largest of the British woodpeckers, resident, and in England 

 and Wales not uncommon in thick woods where it nests, but scarce 

 elsewhere. It is almost unknown in Scotland and Ireland. Its insect 

 food is mostly taken off the tree stems, but it feeds occasionally on the 

 ground, being especially partial to ants and their pupse. Early in 

 April a circular hole is chiselled in the trunk or branch of a tree, usually 

 decayed, and a nesting chamber is excavated in the heart of the stem. 

 The eggs are glossy white and from five to seven in number (see British 

 Bird Egg Cabinet, drawer 6). 



Case 152. 



HOUSE-MARTIN {Chelidon urhica). 



This summer visitor is generally distributed throughout the British 

 Islands, usually arriving about the middle of April, and departing in 

 September or October, though considerable numbers are to be seen 

 even later in the year. The nest is made of mud, shaped like the half 

 of a cup or basin, lined with fine straw and feathers, and entered by a 

 hole in the rim. It is usually attached to the walls of houses under the 

 eaves (as here shown), or it may be otherwise attached to some rock or 

 other vertical surface, but always under some projection so as to be 

 protected from the weather. The same nest is occupied year after year 

 — broken parts being renovated. Four or five white eggs (see British 

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

 are reared in a season. 



