VILAFLOR 77 



self no longer, he flew to the tree where his mate was, 

 and dug with his beak at the branch close to where she 

 was sitting. "Why don't you do something?" he 

 seemed to say. " Sitting there ! " "I suppose you know 

 what's going on ? " 



While I was photographing these young Ravens a 

 Carpintero flew out into the sunshine and settled on 

 the trunk of a large pine tree close at hand, commenc- 

 ing at once a diligent search for insects in the deep 

 crevices of the bark, his red nape and mottled back 

 showing very conspicuously in the bright sunlight. 

 He was not allowed to stay there long though, for 

 almost as soon as he had alighted, half a dozen " little 

 friars " came down from the top of the tree and sur- 

 rounded him from all sides, chattering and pecking at 

 him, while many others were on their way to join in 

 the fun ; so he flew quickly and silently back into the 

 woods. This bird, the Great Spotted Woodpecker, 

 is not uncommon in the pine woods round about Vila- 

 flor, although it is chiefly by means of its ringing cry, 

 and an occasional rounded hole in one of the older 

 forest trees, that its presence is to be detected. No 

 bird takes better care of himself than the Carpintero, 

 as the peasants call him, and if you are on one side of 

 a tree he is almost sure to be on the other ; thus the 

 observer may become the observed, and he will pro- 

 bably find out more about your habits than you do 

 about his. 



Towards evening we retrace our steps in the direc- 

 tion of the village, and as we find ourselves clear of 

 the forest, the mewing whistle of the Kite, as he goes 

 back to his favourite tree, tells us that he has watched 

 the last travellers out of the woods. 



