10 



call-note, which our best field-naturalists render as " tchick " 

 or "chink." It is certainly a peculiar call, and, when once 

 recognised, is not likely to be mistaken. Mr. Seebohm also 

 states that it has a seconcf note like " the syllable tra" This 

 I have not noticed, but the other resounding note may often 

 be heard in our woodlands, though the bird itself will be rarely 

 observed. In the spring-time both this Woodpecker and its 

 smaller cousin, D. minor, produce a loud noise by drumming 

 with their bills on the branches or twigs of a tree, and these 

 vibrating taps are generally supposed to be a signal or call-note 

 between the sexes. Certainly this noise can be heard at a 

 considerable distance. The food of the Great Spotted Wood- 

 pecker consists of insects of all sorts, which it procures after 

 the manner of its kind by hammering at the bark of a tree and 

 prising it off. It also feeds on fruit and nuts, acorns, berries, 

 &c. It is the only British Woodpecker which is a migrant, 

 and nearly every year considerable numbers cross the ocean. 

 When I was in Heligoland with Mr. Seebohm, five young 

 D. major were brought to us alive one Sunday morning, having 

 been caught by boys in the potato-fields, where they had 

 dropped to rest, in an exhausted state. 



Nest. None. As with other Woodpeckers, the eggs are laid 

 on chips or powdered wood at the end of a hole, hollowed 

 in nearly every case by the birds themselves. The eggs are 

 laid about the middle of May, and both birds are said to assist 

 in their incubation. 



Eggs. From five to seven in number, sometimes eight being 

 known. Axis, ro-ri5; diam., 075-0-85. 



II. THE HAIRY WOODPECKER. DENDROCOPUS VILLOSUS. 



Picus villosus, Forster, Phil. Trans. Ixii. p. 383 (1772). 

 Dendrocopus villosus, B. O. U. List Br. B. p. 77 (1883); 



Saunders, Man. p. 266 (1889) ; Hargitt, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. 



xviii. p. 230 (1890). 



Adult Male. Of moderate size. Black and white, with a 

 broad white stripe down the middle of the back ; scapulars, 

 rump, and upper tail-coverts black; four centre tail-feathers 

 black, the next one black for the basal half, white for the ter- 



