THE PIED WOODPECKERS. 9 



primary quills, and by the dusky stripes on the flanks and 



thighs. 



The large size of the present species prevents its being mis- 

 taken for any of the other Pied Woodpeckers included in the 

 British list. It may also be recognised by its having the back 

 and rump black. The North American P. villosus^ which ap- 

 i proaches it in size, has a white streak down the middle of the 

 back. 



Range in Great Britain. A somewhat local bird, and one oi 

 the most difficult to observe, on account of its shy nature. It 

 is found nesting in the woodlands of the southern and mid- 

 land counties of England, but is rare to the north of Yorkshire. 

 In Wales it is a scarce species, and in Scotland it is not now 

 known to breed. In some years considerable numbers visit the 

 British Islands during the autumn migration, especially the 

 eastern coasts, as in 1886, 1887, and again in 1889. It has only 

 been noticed in Ireland at scattered intervals, and has never 

 been found breeding in that country. 



Eange outside the British Islands. Distributed throughout 

 Europe in suitable localities, reaching just beyond the Arctic 

 Circle in Scandinavia, and found as far as Archangel in 

 Northern Russia, but the most northern limit recorded in 

 the Ural Mountains is 64 N. lat. Thence, according to Mr. 

 Hargitt, its range extends across Southern Siberia to Amurland 

 and Corea. The British Museum possesses examples of the 

 Great Spotted Woodpecker from Portugal, Spain, N. Italy, 

 and from Asia Minor. The above-named authority also con- 

 siders the bird of the Canary Islands to be the same as our 

 British species, though there is a tendency to a darker under 

 surface in the specimens from these islands. In every direction 

 races of Dendrocopus major are found, which take its place in 

 other countries of the Palaearctic Region. Thus D. tissa, a 

 white-breasted form, is found in Eastern Siberia and Kamt- 

 chatka ; Z>. poelzcvni, a dark form, in the Caucasus ; D. leucop- 

 terus, a pale form again, in Central Asia, &c. 



Habits. No birds are more difficult to study in the field than 

 the Woodpeckers, and the present species, with us, is one of the 

 shyest of birds. Its presence is sometimes made known by its 





