PIED WOODPECKERS 35 



part of the cavity only the tail and the tip of the wing 

 were visible. I found that the habit of the birds was 

 to cease working about 4 p.m. I do not know at what 

 hour they commenced work. 



Five days later the nest hole had attained such a 

 size that the birds were able to turn round in it, and 

 so now emerged head foremost. When throwing away 

 the chips, the head of the bird would appear at the 

 aperture with the beak full of chips and dispose of 

 them with a jerk of the head. The head of a wood- 

 pecker at the entrance to its hole is a pretty sight, so 

 bright and keen is its eye. The excavation of the nest 

 from start to finish probably occupies from ten to 

 fourteen days. 



The yellow-fronted pied woodpecker sometimes 

 selects as a nesting site a spot in a tree-trunk only a 

 few inches above the level of the ground. 



Some years ago my ignorance of this fact afforded 

 me a rather amusing experience. I noticed a pied 

 woodpecker with some insects in its bill. Obviously it 

 was about to carry these to its young. As there was 

 only one clump of about six trees in the vicinity the 

 nest was necessarily in one of these. Having half an 

 hour to spare, I determined to wait and discover the 

 whereabouts of the nest. The sun was powerful, so I 

 elected to squat in the shade close by the trunk of 

 the smallest of the trees. I anticipated that the wood- 

 pecker would fly direct to its nest with the food. 

 Birds that nest in holes are usually quite indifferent 

 to the presence of man ; instinct teaches them that 

 their nest is in an inaccessible place. But, in this in- 



