THE LESSER WOOD-PECKER 109 



hird heats the female wlien he finds her after she has let't 

 him. There is a proverh ahout people who live happily 

 together in matrimony, that they resemble the nut-hatch ». 

 From this we can conclude than in the opinion of ihe old 

 naturalist the happiest matches would be those where the 

 wife likes to be beaten. 



Be this as it may, family life among the nut-hatches 

 does not seem to be of long duration after the young ones 

 are hatched. ^^ hen autumn draws nigh, each male takes 

 its own way. Sometimes they meet later in the season 

 under hazel-nut trees ; they do not recognize each other 

 but pick and quarrel over some fresh kernel. 



The lesser spotted wood-pecker is yet smaller than the 

 nut-hatch ; it is nearly of the same size as the wren and 

 has the extreme agility of that little bird. Its plumage is 

 grey and russet coloured ; its throat is pure white and its 

 head has a brownish tinge. It dwells the whole year where 

 it was born, in holes of trees ; there it establishes its 

 brood and spends its days picking at moss in the cleft 

 bark of trees. It runs over the boughs so rapidly that it is 

 often confounded with the troglodyte. It is marvelously 

 skilful in gymnastics, and a most ingenious destroyer of 

 caterpillars ; it ought to be venerated by all those who 

 are fond of sylviculture. It inspects the trees, branch after 

 branch, living on the leaf-covered stems, exploring them 

 head downwards, or in every other imaginable position. 

 On and under the leaves, in everv chink or cleft of the 



