LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER. 359 



PICUS MINOR. 

 LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER. 



(PLATE 18.) 



Picus varius minor, Briss. Orn. iv. p. 41 (1760). 



Picus minor, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 176 (1766) ; et auctorum plurimorum Latham, 



Temminck, Naumann, Bonaparte, (Newton), Dresser, &c. 

 Dendrocopus minor (Linn.), Koch, Syst. baier. Zool. p. 73 (1816). 

 Dryobates minor (Linn.), Boie, Isis, 1828, p. 326. 

 Picus hortorum, Brehm, Vog. Deutschl. p. 192 (1831). 

 Picus striplatus, MacgiU. Hist. Brit. B. iii. p. 86 (1840). 

 Picus ledouci, Malh. Mtm. Acad. Roy. Metz, 2nd ser. ii. p. 242 (1842). 

 Pipripicus minor (Linn.), Bonap. Consp. Vol. Zyg. p. 8 (1854). 

 Xylocopus minor (Linn.), Cab. Mus. Hein. v. p. 51 (1863). 



In many parts of England the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker is a commoner 

 bird than the Great Spotted Woodpecker. It is more often seen in small 

 plantations ; but, strange to say, north of Yorkshire it is extremely rare, 

 and it is doubtful if it breeds regularly in Scotland. This is all the more 

 remarkable, as on the continent its breeding-range extends at least 

 250 miles further north than its larger congener. So far as is known, it 

 is a resident wherever it is found, which will probably account for its 

 having only once been obtained on the Orkneys and never having been 

 seen in the Shetland Islands or on Heligoland. In Ireland it is of very 

 rare occurrence, and has not been known to breed. 



The range of the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, like that of its larger ally, 

 is Palsearctic ; but it extends somewhat further to the north and, except in 

 the extreme west, not quite so far to the south. This species has not 

 occurred in the Faroes; but in Scandinavia it breeds as far north as 

 lat. 70. In the forests of Archangel it is a very common resident, and 

 breeds up to lat. 67 in the valleys of the Petchora and the Obb. It has 

 not been observed further north than lat. 66 in the valley of the Yenesay ; 

 and on the Pacific coast of Siberia it has not been found further north than 

 lat. 55; but as it occurs in Kamtschatka it is probable also that it is found 

 in lat. 60 in the intervening country. Strange to say, it is a resident in 

 the Azores, but does not appear to be found in the Canaries. It breeds in 

 most of the forests of Algeria, but has not been found in Egypt or Palestine. 

 It is a resident throughout South Europe, but is not so abundant as further 

 north. It is common in Asia Minor, but appears to be absent from Persia 

 and Turkestan. It is found throughout the forest districts of South 

 Siberia, East Mongolia, the island of Sakhalin, and the north island of 

 Japan. As might be expected, throughout this extensive range various 



