THROUGH THE WOODS. 105 



like the Peacock is wont to be. The last of the 

 Woodpeckers we notice here is the LESSER SPOTTED English 

 WOODPECKER (Picus minor). It may be roughly 

 described as a miniature of the Great Spotted 

 Woodpecker, about half the size. It is certainly 

 the most local of the three, but in some few 

 favoured districts is far from uncommon. The 

 habits of the Woodpeckers are all very similar. 

 These birds search the trunks and limbs of the trees 

 most industriously for their insect food, climbing 

 with practised skill, assisted by their stiff, sharply 

 pointed tail-feathers. All live on insects ; all are 

 of solitary habits, and all rear their young in holes 

 among the timber, making no nest, and laying 

 eggs of exceptional gloss and whiteness. 



From the Woodpeckers we pass to the Pigeons. 

 The rambler through the woods will meet with 

 two species at all seasons of the year, and with one 

 other during the summer months alone. Most 

 widely dispersed is the RING DOVE (Columba 

 palumbits\ whose soft, rich coo is one of the most dl! 

 characteristic sounds of the woods in spring and 

 early summer. The large size, the patches of 

 yellowish white on either side of the neck hence . 

 the trivial name and the white wing-bars, most 

 conspicuous during flight, are points that dis- 

 tinguish the Ring Dove from its congeners. 

 The nest of the Ring Dove is a slight and 

 slovenly structure, placed on the branches of 

 the forest trees a mere platform of sticks, on 

 which the two white eggs are laid. Our second 

 species, the STOCK DOVE (C. &nas\ is often English 

 confused with the foregoing, although it is ty 

 little more than half the size, and still more 

 frequently with the Rock Dove a bird that never 



