9 8 



THE BIRDS OF THE WOODS 



back and tail, the male being distinguished by a red, and the female by a 

 black crown. 



The middle-sized spotted woodpecker (D. vied i us) is found only in deciduous 

 woods, especially those near streams, its favourite trees 

 being oaks and beeches, and is almost entirely confined 

 to the temperate countries of Europe. 

 During migration it has been met 

 with in copses, willow - plantations, 

 and gardens in the vicinity of 

 houses; and it nests in deciduous 

 trees, mostly at a man's height from 

 the ground. By this it may more 

 easily be distinguished from the great 

 spotted woodpecker, than by the 

 slight difference in size, colour, and 

 marking. The eggs are laid in April, 

 and at that time the males may be 

 heard screaming as they sit on some 

 high tree, repeating their call of keek 

 with great and accelerating rapidity. 

 When excited by jealousy, the males 

 chase each other from tree to tree, 

 till they are tired out, and then hang 

 side by side, screaming at and clutching at each 

 other so fiercely that they often fall to the 

 ground. Like other woodpeckers, this species 

 hammers most in spring, and, like the rest, it 

 lives principally on insects, though it is not 

 averse to seeds, hazel-nuts, berries, and cherries. 

 In length it measures about 8 inches. Both 

 sixes have a crimson crown with a white border, 

 the males having a rosy tint in certain parts of 

 the plumage ; but this is absent in the females, 

 which have also less black on the breast. 



The lesser spotted woodpecker (D. minor) is 

 often found among evergreen trees, but oftener 

 still in woods of oak, willow, beech, poplar, as 

 well as in underwood near streams and in 

 orchards. It also frequents the ash and the 

 elm, and in Lapland and Siberia makes its home 

 in the birch-forests. High ground or low ground 

 makes no difference to it ; it is met with in the 

 Alps, and though not particularly common anywhere, is the ordinary woodpecker of 

 the Thames district, being well known in the gardens bordering that river. This 

 cheery, active climber, which haunts the highest trees, though occasionally seen on 

 slender stems close by, shows but little fear of man, and is noticeably jealous of 



\ 



THE GREAT BLACK WOODPECKER. 



