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BLACK WOODPECKER. 



GREAT BLACK WOODPECKER. 

 PLATE LIII. 'PIG. I. 



Picus martins, PENNANT. MOXTAGU. 



THESE birds commence building in the beginning of April, and the 

 nest is placed in the hole of a tree, most frequently the fir, at a height, 

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

 in a hollow of a wall. 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 to the curious, some of them being of 

 considerable size, even several inches long; so great is the power of 

 the bill, acting almost like a bill-hook. 



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, and this labour of both lasts for seventeen or eighteen 

 days. The young are fed with ants' eggs, and are so carefully 

 guarded by their parents, that they will hardly quit the nest if it be 

 approached. 



