PICIDJE. 247 



in Britain, and three of the others have only been 

 obtained once each. 



GREEN WOODPECKER, Picus viridis. The Green 

 Woodpecker, or "Woodwall," as it is often called, 

 is resident with us all the year, and is not at all an 

 uncommon bird in all parts of the county : its 

 wild laughing cry may often be heard, and is a much 

 more certain indication of the presence of one of 

 these birds than the well-known "Woodpecker 

 tapping the hollow beech tree," which tapping noise, 

 though occasionally caused by a Woodpecker, espe- 

 cially the Lesser Spotted, is much more generally 

 made by a Nuthatch hammering away at a refractory 

 nut. 



The food of the Green Woodpecker consists 

 mostly of the different insects which can be found 

 hid under the moss or the bark of trees, especially 

 where the bark is a little loose or rotten. The bird 

 generally begins its search for these insects at or 

 near the bottom of a tree, and gradually works its 

 way upward and round and round, but never down- 

 wards. It is by no means limited in its choice of 

 food to such insects as may be found in trees, but it 

 may quite as frequently be seen on the ground 

 searching for grubs and worms, especially for ants 

 and their eggs which form a very favourite portion 

 of its food. This is the last of M. Prevost's birds 

 birds which I shall have to quote : his list of food is 



