THE WOODPECKERS 



sounds littered in the open air. Almost throughout the year these 

 not os may be heard, and are commonly, but we need hardly say 

 erroneously, held to foretell rain. <;ill>ert White and others have 

 likened these sounds to human laughter. The widespread attention 

 which these notes have attracted have earned for this bird the names 

 of yaffle and yaffingale. But the green-woodpecker has a consider- 

 able variety of cries ; one very harsh and loud, apparently uttered by 

 the male in early spring, hat been syllabled tiacacan, tiacacan, and this 

 is, pethap^ a note of defiance to rival males, or a warning to tres- 

 piixx, .j-x nt his r;, rr (hut hi^ territon is l.rin- imaded: while during; 

 the nesting season a peculiarly mellow series of notes, quite in- 

 describable, are uttered. According to Bailly, at the end of March 

 this bird utters an amatory note like tio, tio, tio up to fifteen times in 

 a shrill tone, but this does not seem to be true of the British species. 



The lesser spotted-woodpecker utters a note recalling that of the 

 noisy blackbird going to roost kinck, kinck, kinck, kinck. 



The greater spotted species, in contrast with his relatives, is a 

 singularly silent bird, having no cry but an occasional quet, yuet, or 

 ffich, gich, varied at intervals by a low fluid tra tra tra tra tra. When 

 nesting it utters a ,-all like >!,!;, ,ln<-k\ ;in<l when alarmed a loud 

 ringing cry like chink, chink. 



Though as a vocalist inferior to its relatives, as an exponent of 

 the instrumental music to which reference has been made, the 

 greater spotted- wood pecker is easily first This music takes the form 

 of a weird drumming sound, once heard never to be forgotten. The 

 method of its production was for long a mystery, and by earlier orni- 

 thologists was believed to be produced by vibratory motions of the 

 head while the beak was thrust into a cleft in the tree on which the 

 bird was perched. As a matter of fact, these strange founds are 

 produced by blows of the beak upon a branch, delivered so rapidly 

 that the head presents a blurred appearance. The sounds thus Bade 

 vary with the resonance of the wood, and can be heard at a distance 

 of half a mile. Since these strange vibrating notes commonly beget 



