142 OUR RARER BRITISH BREEDING BIRDS. 



both in regard to situation (amongst short heather 

 and bent grass) and the lining of it with a few 

 blades of dead grass. 



The four pear-shaped eggs vary from olive green 

 to olive brown in ground colour, and are spotted and 

 blotched with brown of different shades and light 

 grey. They are not likely to be confused with 

 those of the Common Curlew on account of their 

 smaller size, but may possibly be taken for 

 those of the less pear-shaped Richardson's Skua, 

 as the birds breed on the same ground. 

 Watching the Whimbrel on to her nest through 

 a good pair of binoculars is the best way both to 

 find and identify her eggs. 



WOODPECKER, GREEN. 



THE Green Woodpecker is the most numerous 

 member of the Picida? family living in this country, 

 and appears to confine its breeding area to 

 England and Wales. Its loud yaffa, yaffa, yaffle 

 note may often be heard close to London, where 

 I have sat and watched the bird alternately hunt- 

 ing the bark of trees for insects, and hopping 

 about on the ground below in search of ants. 



It is essentially a lover of well-wooded dis- 

 tricts, although I have met with it nesting by a 

 roadside where there were very few trees in the 

 immediate neighbourhood, and Dixon mentions 

 finding a pair occupying a hole in the tiny cliffs 

 between Torquay and Paignton, where in all 

 conscience they might have found abundance of 

 suitable timber. 



Some of the older observers speak of the 



