556 PICARIAN BIRDS. 



long drops and ascents, unmistakable to the observer. Like many other birds 

 of bright plumage, the green woodpecker is extremely shy, and is oftener heard 

 than seen. If undisturbed, it may be seen to settle near the bottom of a tree and 

 work its way up to the top, which it does very rapidly, hammering at the bark 

 or prising it off, and gathering in its insect-food with its long suctorial tongue. It 

 feeds largely on ants, and plaj^s great havoc with the ant-hills, into which it digs 

 great holes with its powerful bill. It is also said to attack wasps' nests for the 

 sake of the grubs, and it will, according to Naumann, catch bees, as well as feed 

 on acorns and hazel-nuts. The green woodpecker undoubtedly makes mistakes on 

 occasions, so that it is not uncommon to find holes driven into trees by the birds 

 and abandoned when the inside of the trunk or branch proved to be sound 

 throughout. The beautiful symmetry with which J;he bird cuts the hole has often 

 been remarked upon, the circular opening appearing as if it had been drilled in the 

 tree. No nest is made, and the eggs, glossy white, and sometimes seven or eight 

 in number, are deposited on the chips of wood accumulated during the process of 

 excavation. Found in suitable localities throughout Europe, this species does not 

 occur beyond the Ural Mountains, though it extends to Asia Minor and Western 

 Persia. In Spain and Portugal its place is taken by Sharpe's green woodpecker 

 (6r. sharpei), and in Algeria by Le Vaillant's green woodpecker (G. vaillanti). 

 Of one of the Himalayan species, the black-naped green woodpecker (G. occi- 

 pitalis), a curious nest was found near Darjiling, and is recorded by Mr. Hume, 

 who writes that "on the 17th of June Mr. Gamniie took five hard-set eggs of this 

 species out of a large regularly-formed nest placed at the bottom of a hollow 

 in a tree ; the nest being for all the world like that of some babbling-thrush, com- 

 posed chiefly of coarse moss, roots intermingled with a little moss, and portions of 

 a few broad dry flag-leaves. This was below Rungbi, near Darjiling, at a height 

 of about five thousand feet. It was simply impossible, in my opinion, that the 

 woodpecker should have had anything to do with the making of the nest ; 

 but it is very remarkable, I think, that it should even have accepted some other 

 bird's nest as the receptacle for its eggs. The parent bird was captured on the 

 eggs, so that there can be no mistake about the fact." 



Grey-Headed The grey-headed woodpecker (G. canus) ranges over the greater 



Woodpecker. p ar o Europe, but does not visit the British Islands ; and it also 

 occurs in Siberia, Northern China, and the island of Yezo. Its habits are 

 similar to those of the green woodpecker, which it also greatly resembles in size 

 and colour, being about 12 inches in length. The under surface of the body, how- 

 ever, is perfectly uniform, without any crescentic marking as in most of the green 

 woodpeckers ; and the moustache-streak is black both in the male and female, 

 the male usually having a red moustache. The nape is always grey, but the male 

 has a red head and the female a grey one. 



African Green Passing over the American green woodpeckers (Chloronerpes), 



Woodpecker. o f which seventeen representatives are known, we come to the 

 African green woodpeckers, all of which are confined to Africa south of the 

 Sahara. Representing in that continent the American green woodpeckers, they 

 have a similar coloration, but a more rounded wing. Fifteen species are known, 

 but nothing remarkable has been recorded about their habits, and the published 



