9 6 THE BIRDS OF THE WOODS 



rain has begun, he almost ceases to do so. During the pairing-season the cock 

 calls almost all day, except about noon. 



From the time of its arrival in April till the middle of July the cuckoo calls 

 apparently so long as the female is laying; but in the beginning of July it 

 becomes less noisy, and is only heard in the morning and evening, and then not 

 so continually as before. Early in that month the half-grown young cuckoos 

 begin to depart. They have, as nestlings, a shrill, piercing voice, and they are 

 by no means wanting in courage, and frighten their enemies by opening their large 

 mouths. After leaving the nest they are accompanied and fed by their foster- 

 parents. On the Continent it is not until August or September that the adult 

 cuckoos begin to move southwards. The cuckoo is about 12 inches long, has 

 yellow feet and claws, the tail tipped and spotted with white, and the wing- 

 feathers with white notches on their inner webs. The white breast is crossed by 

 black bars, and the upper part of the body is of a delicate grey. There are also, 

 especially in warm countries, reddish brown cuckoos, which in Europe are 

 generally young females. The nestlings are of a light or dark dust - colour 

 above, sometimes slaty grey, sometimes brownish black, marked with white 

 or grey mottlings, and have grey eyes, pale, reddish yellow beaks, orange red 

 throats, and sulphur-coloured feet and claws. Their breast is white, with a tinge 

 of pale brown or yellow, and crossed by black wavy stripea 



The woodpeckers are climbing birds in the true sense, for in 

 climbing the bark of a tree they make full use of their feet, which have 

 two toes behind and two in front. Instead of moving about in a tree in the manner 

 of other climbing birds, they run along the branches, or ascend its vertical trunk, 

 which they are able to do by the help of their elastic tails, which, when firmly 

 pressed against the tree, can not only assist the hold obtained by the claws, but 

 support the whole weight of the body. The tail is generally used when the wood- 

 pecker is obliged to let go its hold on the bark, to move its feet higher up, so that 

 the bird can go up a tree but not down one. Woodpeckers appear to make great 

 use of the fourth toe, which, in the majority of cases, is longer than the third ; a 

 peculiarity which distinguishes a woodpecker from the other Picarian birds ; the 

 green woodpecker, which is an awkward climber, being the only exception. Wood- 

 peckers seem very rarely to use the first toe, which is very short ; and in fact some 

 species are without it altogether. These birds have a straight, sometimes slightly 

 bent, mostly wedge-like beak, which serves for splitting the bark when seeking 

 food, or for shaping the nesting-holes. In the tail there are from four to six spiny 

 feathers with wedge-like points, which, by constant pressing against the trunk, get 

 worn down, and are therefore shorter than the other tail-feathers. Woodpeckers 

 are mostly inhabitants of hot countries, and when they live in temperate climates are 

 generally resident. They feed principally on insects and their larvae, which 

 they obtain by hammering with their beak on the trunks and branches, and 

 pulling their victims out from beneath the bark or from the decaying wood 

 by means of their long, barbed tongues. They have a peculiar call, consisting 

 of short, loud notes, which in the green woodpecker is rather like a laugh, and in 

 the great spotted woodpecker is accompanied by a sort of rattle or drumming. 



