WOODPECKERS. s6l 



of insects, beginning generally at the bottom and pursuing the uneven tenor of its 

 way towards the top of one tree, sometimes visiting the larger branches on its way 

 up, and betokening its presence by the loud taps which it bestows upon the bark, 

 or by the fall of its pieces, as the bird prises them off with its awl-like bill. 

 Although its chief food consists of insects, secured with great rapidity by means 

 of its long and glutinous tongue, this woodpecker visits orchards and feeds on 



GREATER, MIDDLE, AND LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKERS (\ nat. size). 



plums and cherries, while in the autumn and winter it will devour nuts, acorns, 

 and berries. The least of the European species of the genus, and easily recognised 

 by its small size and the five white bars on the wing, the lesser spotted woodpecker 

 (D. minor) has in the male the crown red, while in the female the forehead and 

 crown are white, with no red on the head at all. In general habits the present 

 species closely resembles the last, but at certain seasons of the year it is found 

 hunting for insects in orchards or 011 trees in the vicinity of houses, which is not 

 the case witl^ its larger relative. Being, like most of its kin, a shy bird, 

 VOL. in. 36 



