100 A HAND-LIST OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



PICUS VIRIDIS 



209. Picus viridis pluvius Hart. THE BRITISH GREEN 

 WOODPECKER. 



Picus VIRIDIS PLUVIUS Hartert, Brit. B., v, p. 125. 



Gecinus viridis (Linnaeus), Yarrell, n, p. 457 ; Saunders, p. 273. 



DISTRIBUTION. Confined to British Isles. England and Wales.- 

 Resident. Fairly generally distributed but local, rare Lanes, and 

 extreme west and north-west Yorks., and only occasional Westmor- 

 land, Cumberland, Durham, and Northumberland. Scotland. Rare 

 vagrant. Three Dumfries., one Clyde area, one Roxburgh, one 

 " Forth," several " Tay," and one Orkneys, but most records not 

 entirely satisfactory. Ireland. Rare vagrant. Three recorded as 

 obtained, one in 1847 and one in 1854, but no specimens exist. 



DISTRIBUTION. Abroad. Replaced by a closely-allied form in 

 Europe generally, north to Lapland, east to Caucasus and Asia 

 Minor, and by others in Spain and Persia. 



DRYOBATES MAJOR* 



210. Dryobates major major (L.) THE NORTHERN GREAT 

 SPOTTED WOODPECKER. 



Picus MAJOR Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. x, i, p. 114 (1758 Europe. 



Restricted typical locality : Sweden). 



Dendrocopus major (Linnaeus), Yarrell, n, p. 470 (part) ; Saunders, p. 275 



(part). 



DISTRIBUTION. British Isles. Winter-visitor. Apparently fairly : 

 regular in small numbers Sept. to Nov. east coast Great Britain j 

 from Norfolk northwards, often visiting Shetlands and Orkneys, i 

 and occasionally west side Scotland and even 0. Hebrides, also | 

 sometimes occurs inland in England (e.g. Northants, 1889), and 

 south of Norfolk. In Ireland about forty occurrences in all proba- c 

 bility of this form. Periodically occurs in considerable numbers, 

 as in 1861, 1868, 1886, 1889, 1898, 1901, 1903, 1909. Very fewg 

 specimens have yet been critically examined, but evidence for above, 

 statement is strongly presumptive. Examples have been deter-e 

 mined as follows : Co. Down winter 1886-7 ; Northants, Dec., 1889 ; 

 Perth, Oct., 1891 ; Forfar, Nov., 1892 ; Lines., Oct., 1898 ; Sussex, 



* According to recent investigations made in America, the usual name 

 Dendrocopus (originally spelt Dendrocopos) was published in July, 1816, and 

 thus was anticipated by Dendrocopus of Vieillot published in April of the same 

 year. These names spelt with us and os at the end cannot both stand : they 

 obviously have the same meaning, and are only differently transliterated 

 from the Greek. The case thus differs from that of Apus and Apos, which 

 were created by the same author in the same book, and were probably both 

 spelt thus differently in order to distinguish them. The name Dryobates 

 has been in undisputed use in America for the last 25 years. E.H. 



