SPOTTEP WOODPECKERS. 305 



ground, and without any lining but the chips and dust 

 of the abraded wood. The eggs are four or five, beau- 

 tifully polished, and of a clear bluish white ; and the 

 old birds show a great deal of regard both for them 

 and for the young ones. The love call, that jarring 

 by rapid strokes upon a sonorous part of a tree, which 

 is not accompanied either by excavation or by hunting 

 for insects, is repeated by the one and answered by the 

 other, whenever any danger appears, nor is it left off 

 until the young ones are fledged and able to provide 

 for themselves. 



The small spotted woodpecker (picus minor) is 

 found only in the south and west parts of Britain, 

 though it has been mentioned as among the birds of 

 Scotland, not however upon any very good authority. 

 It has the same habits as the others, only it is a very 

 little bird, not much more than half an ounce in 

 weight. The red is not so brilliant as in the larger 

 one, and though black and white are the chief colours 

 upon the body, they are differently marked. Like the 

 others of the same genus, it nestles in holes of trees, 

 and is said to take possession of the nests of some of the 

 titmice, notwithstanding their bold and pugnacious dis- 

 positions. The eggs are rather more numerous than 

 those of the former species ; like them they are beau- 

 tifully polished, and they have a trace of peach-blos- 

 som in the colour. It is rather singular that this bird, 

 which is abundant in Russia, should be found only in 

 the part of Britain most distant from Russia, and 

 where there is the least similarity in seasons ; but the 

 chough is also found upon that coast of the island 

 2 D 2 



