OF THE BIRDS MENTIONED 127 
hawk. Recognized by its uncommon mode of flight 
which is rather heavy and slow, ashy coloured back 
transversely barred breast and lower part of body, which 
are of a lighter ashy-white shade, its ashy tail tipped 
with white, and its well-known note (whence name) 
which is uttered when flying or just after settling. 
The hen sometimes utters a very musical and peculiar 
note, rendered peculiar, some think, by the bird having 
its own egg in its mouth, and seeking a nest wherein 
to deposit it. Migratory: Arrives in the beginning 
of April, leaves in July or August or September at 
latest. Length: about 14 inches. Habits: Wan- 
dering, and very pugnacious. Haunts: Woodland 
country chiefly. Food: Caterpillars (especially), 
snails, grasshoppers, flies, beetles, etc. Bill: Some- 
what curved, red inside. Nests: Does not build any, 
but deposits its eggsin the nests of smaller birds, as 
the hedge-sparrow, fly-catcher, blackbird, robin, and 
others. One egg deposited in each nest. Eggs: Grey, 
tinted reddish or greenish. 
5. GREEN WOODPECKER 
(Pages 80-82) 
Picus viridis (one of the Scansores. See Cuckoo). 
Syn.: Popinjay (from a word meaning parrot, referring 
to the gay colours of the bird), Tongue Bird, Yaffe 
