PICUS 437 



PICUS, Linn., 1766. 



623. GREAT BLACK WOODPECKER. 



PICUS MARTIUS. 



Plcus martins, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 173 (1766) ; Naum. v. p. 253, Tuf. 

 131 ; Hewitson, i. p. 238, pi. Ixi. fig. 1 ; Gould, B. of E. iii. pi. 225 ; 

 id. B. of Gt. Brit. iii. pi. 73 ; Newton, ii. p. 482 ; (Dresser), v. p. 3, 

 pi. 274 ; Hargitt, Cat. B. Br. Mus. xviii. p. 518 ; Saunders, p. 278. 



Pic noir, French ; Picchio nero, Ital. ; Zwarte Specht, Dutch ; 

 Schioarz-Specht, German ; Sortspet, Dan. ; Svartspet, Norweg. ; 

 Spilkrdka, Swed. ; Paldkarki, Finn. ; Dyatdl-Jelna, Russ. 



<$ ad. (Finland). Glossy black, tinged with brown on the breast 

 wings and tail blackish brown ; crown crimson, narrowing into an 

 occipital crest in the nape ; tarsus feathered in front for about two-thirds of 

 its length ; bill bluish white becoming blackish towards the tip ; legs and 

 feet dark grey ; iris light yellow. Culmen 2*6, wing 9'0, tail 7'0, tarsus 

 1'3 inch. The female is duller and browner in colour, and the crimson on 

 the head is confined to a patch on the occiput. 



Hob. Europe, in pine forests from Lapland down to the 

 Pyrenees and Sicily ; of rare occurrence on the Iberian penin- 

 sula, but its occurrence in Britain has not been substantiated ; 

 Asia east to Kamchatka and Japan, south to Mongolia, Man- 

 churia, and Northern China. 



Frequents forests where old and decayed trees are numerous, 

 and is as a rule shy and wary. Its note is a loud force, 

 kree, foree, which is often uttered, especially before rainy 

 weather. Its flight is heavy, but swift, consisting of a 

 succession of bow-shaped dips, and it seldom flies far at a 

 time. Its food consists chiefly, if not entirely, of insects of 

 various kinds, especially ants. It bores its rather deep nest- 

 hole at some height in an aspen, fir, birch, or poplar tree, 

 and in April or May deposits 4 eggs on the chips at the 

 bottom of the nest-hole. These are glossy white tapering 

 towards the smaller end and measure about 116 by 1*01. 



624. RICHARDS' WOODPECKER. 

 PICUS RICHARDSI. 



Picus richardsi (Tristram), P.Z.S. 1879, p. 386, pi. xxxi ; (Hargitt, 

 Cat. B. Br. Mus. xviii. p. 506 ; (Seebohm) Ibis, 1892, p. 248. 



<J ad. Upper parts, wings, tail (except as below) neck, and upper 

 breast glossy black ; forehead, crown, crest, and malar stripe rich scarlet- 



