PICUS MINOR. 497 



•white eggs in the holes of trees on the bare wood in April and 

 May. It is rare in Britain. I never saw it in the woods about 

 St Andrews. But it may be flitting about the high branches 

 without my seeing it, for Mr Gould in his " Illustrations of the 

 Birds of Europe,'' says : — " In England it is far more abundant 

 than is generally supposed ; we have seldom sought for it in 

 vain wherever large trees, particularly the elm, grow in 

 sufficient numbers to invite its abode; its security from sight is to 

 be attributed more to its habit of frequenting the topmost branches 

 than to its rarity." It is found in England as far north as 

 Derby, hence there is no reason why it may not be found in 

 Scotland, but it is oftener heard than seen, for it has the 

 singular power of making an extraordinary loud, churring noise 

 for so small a bird. A close observer says : — " It is a frequent 

 visitor to the woods near Shrewsbury, never failing in April to 

 astonish him with its prodigiously loud churr, on the ranpikes 

 of trees, which may be heard more than a mile. It resembles 

 the snorting of a frightened horse, but louder and longer." So 

 from this very loud statement my young friends should be at no 

 loss to find it, when they hear in the woods a sound " louder and 

 longer than the snorting of a frightened horse." The Rev. Mr 

 Bree from the same district says : — " It is by no means rare 

 here, but is more heard than seen. Its loud, rapid, vibratory 

 noise — most extraordinarily loud for so small a bird — cannot fail 

 to arrest the attention of the most unobservant ear." Though I 

 have watched the bird within a few yards I cannot account for 

 how the noise is produced. It resembles that made by the 

 boring of a large auger through the hardest wood, hence it is 

 called the " pump borer." But its usual note is a feeble squeak 

 rapidly repeated six or eight times, " ee, ee, ee, ee, ee," louder and 

 varied in Spring, which might pass for its love song. The 

 forehead of this pretty little woodpecker is greyish- white, crown 

 crimson, streak over the eye, occiput and nape of the neck 

 black, cheeks and sides of the neck white, upper part of the 

 back and lesser wing-coverts glossy black, middle of the back 

 and scapulars white, barred with black, quills black, with white 

 spots, rump and four centre tail feathers black, the rest fainter, 

 till the outer feathers, which are white with a black spot near 

 the tip. It is like the last, a mingling of black and white, bill 

 and legs bluish-grey, iris reddish-brown. Female similar, 

 without the crimson crown, which is white, It is 5J by 10 in 

 extent of wings. The next allied genus is that of Yunx, as 

 named by Linnaeus. So far as I know there are only three 



