BLACK WOODPECKER 



GREAT BLACK WOODPECKER. 



PLATE LIIL FIGURE I. 

 Picus martius, .... PENNANT. MONTAGU. 



IT is very doubtful whether this species has ever occurred 

 in any part of Great Britain ; it is not admitted as having 

 any claim to be considered a British bird by the most 

 recent authorities. 



The birds commence building in the beginning of 

 April, and the nest is bored in the hole of a tree, most 

 frequently the fir, at other times the aspen, at a height, 

 generally, of about fifty or sixty feet from the ground. 

 The entrance to it is narrow, but beyond this, it widens in 

 a downward direction to the width of about nine inches. 

 The chips and splinters made by the bird in excavating its 

 nursery frequently betray the locality, some of them being 

 of considerable size, even several inches long. 



The eggs, from three, it is said, to five or six in 

 number, are white, smooth, and shining. The male is 

 reported to take his turn on the nest. The young are fed 

 with grubs and the larvae of beetles and insects in the 

 various stages, and are carefully guarded by their parents, 

 who will hardly quit the nest if it be approached. 



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