38 WOODLAND CREATURES 



at the back of its head as it peeps cautiously 

 round a trunk. 



It is more strictly arboreal than the Green 

 Woodpecker, which latter, as already mentioned, 

 though essentially a tree bird, is not above 

 descending to terra firma, especially to raid an 

 ants' nest, when it probes the teaming city with 

 its long strong bill, reaping a rich harvest among 

 the larvae and fat pupae in their white shroud- 

 like cocoons. Now I have never seen the 

 Greater Spotted Woodpecker on the ground, 

 though it is very plentiful here, having increased 

 so much of late that it quite outnumbers the 

 Green Woodpecker. In most parts of England 

 it is regarded as a somewhat rare bird, and until 

 five or six years ago it was by no means common 

 here, but it has increased tremendously. Up to 

 1917 a certain wood had only one resident pair, 

 and I do not think there was another pair 

 within a half-mile radius. Next spring there were 

 three nests in the area, and during the spring 

 of 1920 at least half a dozen pairs reared broods 

 within the same limits. That this increase was 

 partly natural, due to suitable seasons, a plentiful 

 food supply, and so on, is shown by the way the 

 species has been extending its range in other 

 districts where it was formerly hardly known. 

 It has been reported as spreading steadily north- 

 wards into Scotland, where it used to be very 

 scarce. 1 But the local increase that I write of, 

 was, I believe, largely due to another factor, 



* See British Birds, the Scottish Naturalist, and other periodicals. 



