146 OUR RARER BRITISH BREEDING BIRDS. 



the branches of a dead oak tree. I hoped to rind 

 their nest in the neighbourhood, which is an 

 eminently suitable one ; but was baulked in this, 

 I regret to say, by a more curious than humane 

 gunner, who slew one of them in order to have a 

 closer inspection of the tiny creature that could 

 make such a far- sounding noise. 



The bird makes its nesting-hole in the trunk 

 or branch of a tree, and often selects for the purpose 

 such as grow in orchards. It is small in diameter, 

 and varies from six or seven to twelve or fourteen 

 inches in depth, and the eggs are deposited on 

 the dust and debris at the bottom of the rounded 

 chamber prepared for their reception. Our illus- 

 tration was secured near to Torquay. The broken 

 trunk is that of a dead lime, and the tiny entrance 

 hole to the Woodpecker's nesting-shaft is imme- 

 diately beneath the first branches from the top 

 and in front. The birds dug it out, and reared a 

 brood therein last year, and returned with the 

 evident intention of doing so again this, but were 

 ousted by a pair of House- Sparrows. These reared 

 a brood in the hole during the early spring, and 

 were busy feeding a second at the time the photo- 

 graph was taken. In going in and out I noticed 

 that they had to undergo a considerable squeeze 

 on account of the smallness of the hole. 



The eggs of the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker 

 number from five or six to as many as nine, are 

 white and glossy, and only distinguished with 

 certainty from those of the Wryneck by their 

 smaller size and the appearance of their owner. 



