Vol 'i9i9 XVI ] Burleigh, Bird-life in Southwestern France. 509 



flection. This note was frequently heard for the next month, but about 

 the first of August the birds became silent and soon disappeared. 



58. Dryobates major (L.). 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker. — In gen- 

 eral appearance and notes this bird resembled our Hairy Woodpecker, 

 but there was one striking difference. The under tail coverts were a bright 

 red. Like our species, it was noisy but wary, and although frequently 

 heard, for it was resident and plentiful in the pine woods, it was usually 

 seen from a distance. A nest found June 2 held large young and was 

 thirty feet from the ground, in the trunk of a sycamore at the edge of a 

 stretch of woods bordering a pond. 



59. Dryobates minor (L.). Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. — On 

 May 17 two birds were seen at the edge of a slashing in the woods. 

 This was my only record for the occurrence of this species. In appearance 

 they reminded me much of our Downy Woodpecker, being like the preced- 

 ing species, but much smaller. 



60. Picus viridis viridis L. 1 Green Woodpecker. — At a distance 

 this bird reminded me much of our Flicker, for it was practically the 

 same size, and had the same bounding flight and the conspicuous white 

 rump. A close view, however, showed the greenish yellow tinge of its 

 plumage, from which it received its name. It was resident and plentiful 

 throughout the pine woods, but while noisy and often heard it was less 

 often seen, for it was wary and hard to approach. Several times, however, 

 birds were found feeding on the ground at the edge of a slashing or of a 

 field, and then did not fly so quickly. On May 26 a nest was found with 

 six fresh eggs, fifteen feet from the ground, in the trunk of a small oak in the 

 middle of a short stretch of woods. The cavity was fully a foot and a half 

 deep, and on the chips on the bottom of it the glossy white eggs were lying. 



61. Jynx torquilla torquilla L. Wryneck. — On September 2 one 

 bird was seen feeding on the ground at the side of a road. This was my 

 only record for the occurrence of this species. 



62. Alcedo ispida ispida L. Kingfisher. — This bird was but an 

 irregular straggler and was seen but twice along the same small stream, 

 October 27 and November 1. On the latter date the one bird, as it flew 

 by me upstream, uttered at intervals a short, shrill note. 



63. Upupa epops epops L. Hoopoe. — This bird was a summer resi- 

 dent and fairly plentiful in the open cultivated country. The first one 

 appeared about the middle of April, and from that date on one could fre- 

 quently be heard uttering its loud, rolling cry from the top of some large tree. 

 On May 29 a nest was found with small young, eight feet from the ground, 

 in a natural cavity in the trunk of a large oak in a grove of trees about a 

 farm house. There was no evidence of any attempt to construct a nest, 

 the young lying on the foul-smelling decayed wood. Both the male and 

 female were seen feeding their young. The female herself refused at first 

 to flush from the nest, and on attempting to remove her she fluttered vio- 

 lently about, uttering a loud, hissing grunt and seeming, with her long neck 



1 Subspecies undetermined. 



