76 THE HUMAN SIDE OF BIRDS 



progresses in so-called civilisation means more dan- 

 ger to the feathered tribe. 



Woodpeckers have many games of rivalry in the 

 realms of professional carpentry and climbing. 

 They can mount the most slippery tree by a series 

 of jumps or springs. They can climb around dead 

 trees or around the smallest sapling in search of 

 food. Their nests are usually burrowed out of the 

 wood of a dead tree. They are the greatest aid to 

 fruit orchards because of the many pestiferous in- 

 sects they destroy, although few farmers seem to 

 realise it. Nothing is more delightful than the 

 peculiar call of these red-headed carpenters, and 

 their continual "rapping" on dead trees sounds like 

 hundreds of men-carpenters at work on a house. 



The green woodpecker is shier than his American 

 cousin. He is the commonest of the European 

 species, and he delights to dwell in the depths of 

 woods and forests. His chief food is insects and 

 worms, and his tongue is peculiarly shaped so that 

 he is enabled to shoot it out to an astonishing 

 length in seizing the insect or worm on which he 

 feeds. He utters a piercing cry with which he 

 makes the forest resound. He has another cry, 

 which is heard only occasionally, like a noisy burst 

 of laughter, and this he repeats twenty to thirty 

 times in rapid succession. He has still another 



