420 THE GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER. 



dew" as it distils from the aphides, aod then the Woodpeckers eat the 

 ants. Those destructive creatures generally called wood-lice, and known 

 to boys as " monkey-peas," are a favorite article of diet with the Wood- 

 peckers, to whom our best thanks are therefore due. 



But the Woodpeckers, although living mostly on insects, do not con- 

 fine themselves wholly to that diet, but are very fond of fruits, always 

 choosing the ripest. 



As is the case with all its congeners, the Great Spotted Woodpecker 

 lays its eggs in the hollow of a tree. 



The locality chosen for this purpose is carefully selected, and is a 

 tunnel excavated, or at all events altered, by the bird for the special 

 purpose of nidification. Before commencing the operation the Wood- 

 peckers always find out whether the tree is sound or rotten, and they 

 can ascertain the latter fact even through several layers of sound wood. 

 When they have fixed upon a site for their domicile, they set deterrai- 

 nately to work, and speedily cut out a circular tunnel just large enough 

 to admit their bodies, but no larger. Sometimes this tuunel is tolerably 

 straight, but it generally turns off in another direction. 



At the bottom of the hole the female bird collects the little chips of 

 decayed wood that have been cutoff during the boring process, and de- 

 posits her eggs upon them, without any attempt at nest-making. Some 

 excellent examples of these nests are in the British Museum. The eggs 

 are generally five in number, but six have been taken from the nest of 

 this species. 



Generally the nests of birds are kept scrupulously clean, but that of 

 the Woodpecker is a sad exception to the rule, the amount of filth and 

 potency of stench being quite beyond human endurance. The color of 

 the eggs is white and their surface glossy, and they are remarkable, 

 when fresh, for some very faint and very narrow lines, which run 

 longitudinally down the shell toward the small end. 



The general color of this species is black and white, curiously dis- 

 posed, with the exception of the back of the head, which is light scar- 

 let, and contrasts strongly with the sober hues of the body. Taking 

 the black to be the ground color, the white is thus arranged : The 

 forehead and ear-coverts, a patch on each side of the neck, the scap- 

 ularies and part of the wing-coverts, several little squared spots on the 

 wings, and large patches on the tail, are pure white. The throat and 

 the whole of the under surface are also white, but with a grayish 

 cast, and the under tail-coverts are red. The total length of the 

 adult male is rather more than nine inches. The female has no 

 red on the head, and the young birds of the first year are remark- 

 able for having the back of the head black and the top of the head 

 red, often mixed with a few little black feathers. 



The Downy Woodpecker derives its name from the strip of loose, 



