WOODPECKERS AND THEIR ALLIES 69 



Some folks think that wild birds' eggs can 

 be obtained as easily as fowls' from a hen 

 roost, yet I have known a thirty-round ladder 

 to be used, and a mallet and chisel, and then 

 the woodpecker's eggs were not procured. I 

 have had, in my time, the three British species, 

 mature and immature, also their eggs ; but that 

 was before the Bird Act came to the front, and 

 our free ranges were wider than they are at 

 present. If the exertions of those who see the 

 creatures daily, or at least hear them call within 

 a few yards from where they are working and 

 your own efforts thrown in will not get them 

 for you, rest assured that their wits are at least 

 as keen, possibly a trifle keener, than those of 

 the men who have done their best to outwit 

 them. 



Before leaving these three species of wood- 

 peckers for their allies, I wish to state that 

 only three times in forty years have I had a 

 fair sight of the last two noticed ; glimpses 

 go for nothing. The common yaffle can be 

 watched, not easily, but if you use very great 

 caution ; but the black and white ones, so 

 far as my lengthened experience goes, in the 

 midst of their favourite haunts defy observa- 

 tion. 



