THE WOODPECKER 33 



plumage, the elegance of its form, and the harmony of its notes. 

 The bill is white, tipped with black, and surrounded at the base 

 with a ring of rich scarlet feathers. The head is covered with large 

 spots of black and white, the back, rump and breast are of a pale, 

 tawny brown. When the wings are folded they display a row of 

 white spots, finely contrasting with the black ground on which 

 they are placed, these are the tips of the wing-feathers, which ter- 

 minate in white. 



The goldfinch commences singing early in March and continues 

 its song throughout the whole spring. It prefers orchards as a 

 residence, and the nest is a beautiful structure, the outside being 

 composed of moss, lichen and ccarse grass, lined with hair, wool, 

 and down from various plants. The female goldfinch lays five 

 eggs of a whitish tint marked with spots of a deep purple colour 

 at the larger end. The young are reared on small caterpillars and 

 other insects of a soft nature. In autumn and winter goldfinches 

 are gregarious and feed upon seeds of teazle, plantain, knapweed, 

 groundsel, burdock, dandelion, and, above all, thistle (hence the 

 name of thistlefinch) and grasses. 



The GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER (Picus major), Fig. 24, lower 

 figure, belongs to the Scansores or Climbers and the family 

 Picidae, sub-family Picinse, distinguished by the bill being truncated 

 at the tip, and the sides of the upper bill ridged. In this beneficent 

 bird the bill is equal in height and breadth, and the nostrils are 

 hidden by bristles. The tongue is exceedingly long, and capable of 

 being protruded rapidly and to a very great length, while its sides 

 and apex are armed with barbed horny filaments serving to impale 

 the insect prey, and the salivary glands are largely developed, and 

 secrete a glutinous substance, which aids the tongue in its work of 

 capturing insects. The great spotted woodpecker is coloured black 

 and white, with a scarlet crown. Various white spots are disposed 

 on the black-ground, and the throat and underrparts are white. 

 The female is red and crownless. The average length is 8 or 9 

 in. The nest consists of a hole in the trunk of a tree enlarged 

 by the bill. The eggs are of white colour and number five. These 

 birds are continually hopping about the trunks of trees and their 

 branches, and appear to tap on the bark for the purpose of causing 

 insects to emerge from their concealment, the stiff feathers of their 

 tails assisting the birds to maintain their position on the trunks 

 of trees. But the woodpeckers scruple not to peck off the outer 

 bark of trees infested with bark-beetle larvae, and in this way and 

 other wholly insectivorous habits are extremely serviceable. 



The LESSER WOODPECKER (Picus minor) is of similar habits 

 to the Great Spotted Woodpecker, its haunts being large woods 

 and parks and pleasure grounds. 



The GREEN WOODPECKER (Gecinus viridis) is distinguished by 

 the bill being keeled and curved, and its edges straight. The 



B.N. D 



