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the point of their sharp and strong bill. In these holes, at 

 the usual season, the eggs are deposited, which in all the 

 species, as far as they have been ascertained, are invariably 

 white, smooth, and shining. The males are said to take a 

 share in the task of incubation. In these particulars the 

 Black Woodpecker agrees, as far as its history can be 

 gathered from the works of European Ornithologists. The 

 egg of this bird is exactly like that of our well-known 

 Green Woodpecker in shape and colour, but is considerably 

 larger. One specimen, in the possession of Mr. Wilmot, 

 whose rich collection was referred to in the account of the 

 Nutcracker, last described, is one inch four lines long, and 

 one inch one line in breadth. According to M. Temminck, 

 the Black Woodpecker lays three eggs, and in default of 

 finding insect food, will feed on nuts, seeds, or berries. 



The Black Woodpecker is not found in Holland, but M. 

 Vieillot and Polydore Roux include it among the birds of 

 France and Provence. M. Necker says it is not uncommon 

 in the pine forests of the mountains of Switzerland, and 

 M. Savi also says that it is not uncommon on the moun- 

 tains of Savoy and in the Tyrol, occasionally in winter 

 appearing in the vicinity of Rome. A small number in- 

 habit Sicily, where they remain all the year. Mr. H. E. 

 Strickland, in his Catalogue of Birds obtained or seen in 

 Asia Minor, mentions that he saw a specimen of this 

 Woodpecker in the possession of Mr. Zohrab, at Broussa, 

 which was shot in the pine forests of Mount Parnassus. 

 Northward, it is a native of Denmark, Sweden, and Nor- 

 way. Mr. Hewitson, in reference to the Birds of Norway, 

 says, " In two instances only the Great Black Wood- 

 pecker was seen at a distance, but so wild, that it was 

 impossible to approach it ; on the wing it looks like a 

 Crow, and its notes resemble a loud hoarse laugh." It is 

 found in Germany, and from thence to the most northern 



