THE WOODPECKER 121 



that being whom the Gael euphemistically terms 

 ' Him whom I will not name '; and this, possibly, 

 may be the explanation of the poor bird's terror. 

 The great spotted woodpecker appears to 

 have been becoming extinct with us as a 

 nesting species just about the time when the 

 starling was first pushing its way into Southern 

 Scotland, i.e. circa 1840-50. Previously it was 

 a well-known and by no means uncommon bird 

 in the North. 1 What was the cause of its virtual 

 extinction in Scotland at that time remains a 

 puzzle. The authority just cited seems to think 

 that the greater care of the woodlands, involving 

 the destruction of ancient and blasted tree-trunks, 

 may have been a principal factor by restriction 

 of their chief nesting and feeding localities. Be 

 that as it may, we are to-day witnesses of the 

 return of this species in some numbers in our 

 southern and eastern counties. To mention 

 localities is in such cases always unwise ; but of 

 late years there are increasing records of this 

 bird nesting in several Scottish counties. Now 

 it cannot be supposed that there have been any 

 extraordinary changes in the way of suitable 

 surroundings and facilities to induce such an 

 immigration ; ancient fir trees and neglected 

 forests have not recently become more numerous. 



1 Harvie-Brown's Fauna of the Moray Basin. 



