40 WOODLAND CREATURES 



red mud. No wonder the woodpeckers flew 

 away ! 



The area affected was not a large one, but 

 it embraced the ancient stronghold of the wood- 

 peckers, and quite a number must have had to 

 seek fresh quarters. At any rate about the same 

 time I noted the marked increase, already referred 

 to, of the woodpecker population of the coppice 

 by my home. There were not so many birches 

 in this covert, but there were other soft-wooded 

 trees, such as poplars, aspens, and so on. The 

 preference of the Greater Spotted Woodpecker 

 for the silver birch is most marked ; for one nest 

 found in other trees you will find three or four 

 in this. If one could credit a bird with being 

 self-conscious one might imagine it knows how 

 lovely it looks in its black, white, and scarlet 

 plumage, upon the graceful silver-barked tree, 

 with its delicate drooping branches and feathery 

 foliage. But as it is extremely unlikely that 

 any such idea ever enters the woodpecker's head, 

 we must turn for the reason of its preference to 

 the soft wood of the birch, which leads to early 

 and rapid decay, when it not only affords soft 

 material in which to bore, but also harbours 

 many grubs and insects that form the staple 

 food of this bird. Hence the silver birch is the 

 favourite hunting and breeding ground of this 

 smart black and white woodpecker. 



For its nest it usually selects a spot some ten 

 or twelve feet, or it may be more, from the ground, 

 and invariably on the northern side of the tree. 



