ness of its legs. The Green Woodpecker has been seen to break hazel-nuts 

 and devour the kernels ; acorns also are sometimes eaten. 



The note of the Green Woodpecker is a loud clear ' kyu-kyu-kyu,' rapidly 

 repeated, and bearing a strong resemblance to a hearty, boisterous laugh. 

 When alarmed at its nest this note is accentuated into a scream. 



The Green Woodpecker is supposed to pair for life, and the old nesting- 

 hole is often used for many years in succession. As a rule, however, a new 

 hole is excavated every year, and the disused ones are annexed by some 

 pair of Starlings or Tits. Both birds assist in making the hole, which is 

 driven in a horizontal direction till the birds meet within the decayed centre 

 of the timber; a vertical shaft some twelve or fourteen inches in depth is 

 then sunk, and the bottom is enlarged into a small chamber. In this cavity 

 the eggs are laid, no lining being used save the chips and dust which have 

 accumulated while the birds were making the hole. The birds nearly always 

 choose a piece of timber which is decayed in the centre; but sometimes 

 numbers of half-finished holes show that the birds have made the mistake 

 of starting on a sound limb. The hole is wonderfully round and regular, 

 and often looks as if some machine had been used to bore it. The Green 

 Woodpecker does not trouble to carry away the chips of wood, and the 

 fresh chips at the foot of the tree are a sure indication that the hole is 

 occupied. All kinds of trees are chosen chestnuts, poplars, beeches, oaks, 

 elms, and occasionally firs, and the hole may be at any height from the 

 ground. Sometimes it is as much as thirty feet up, while again it may be 

 only a few feet from the ground. I was shown a Green Woodpecker's 

 hole at Mildenhall in Suffolk which was only nine or ten inches from the 

 ground. 



The Green Woodpecker lays from five to seven or eight eggs ; they are 

 pure white, and very glossy in texture, and do not vary much in shape, 

 some being slightly blunter at the small end than others. They vary from 

 1-40 to i -20 inch in length, and from -95 to '90 inch in breadth. The eggs 

 are usually laid during the last week of April or in the beginning of May, 

 but later nests are sometimes found, probably because the first nest of the 

 pair has been destroyed. 



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