DENDROCOPUS 447 



breeds in April and early in May, boring its nest-hole chiefly in 

 oak- or fir-trees, and lays 4 or 5 pure white, glossy eggs, which 

 measure about 0'92 by O68. 



641. WHITE-BACKED WOODPECKER. 

 DENDROCOPUS LEUCONOTUS. 



Dendrccopus leuconotus (Bechst.), Naturg. Deutschl. ii. p. 1034, Taf. 25, 

 fitfs. 1, 2 (1805) ; (Naum.) v. p. 313, Taf. 135, figs. 1, 2 ; Gould, B. 

 of E. iii. p. 228 ; (Dresser), v. p. 39, pi. 279 ; Hargitt, Cat. B. Br. 

 Mus. xviii. p. 268 ; (Tacz.), F. 0. Sib. 0. p. 701 ; D. cirris, Pall. 

 Zoogr. Ross. As. i. p. 410 (1811) ; D. subcirris (Stejn), Proc. U.S. 

 Nat. Mus. 1886 p. 113. 



Weissspeckt, Wcissriickiger Specht, Germ. ; Hvidrygget 

 Flagspett, Dan. and Norweg. ; Hvitryggiga Hackspett, Swed ; 

 Valkoselka, Tilcka, Finn. ; 0-aJtagera, Jap. 



$ ad. (Sweden). Forehead bufly white ; crown to the nape scarlet ; 

 sides of the face and neck forming an interrupted collar, white ; cheeks and 

 a line to the breast, upper back, and upper tail-coverts black ; lower back 

 white, with a few faint black markings ; wings black, spotted with white, as 

 are the outer tail feathers, the latter also barred ; middle tail-feathers black ; 

 under parts white, the throat and chest tinged with yellowish, the abdomen 

 and under tail-coverts tinged with vermilion, the flanks striped with black ; 

 bill horn-blue ; legs lead grey ; iris nut-brown. Culmen 1-5, wing 5'7, 

 tail 3'7, tarsus TO inch. The female differs in having th^ crown black. 



Hob. Northern and central Europe to N. Italy, Turkey 

 and Southern Russia ; Asia, through Siberia to Kamchatka, 

 Mongolia, Manchuria, Corea, Yesso, and the northern part of 

 the main Island of Japan. Not found in Great Britain. 



In its general habits it is much less wild than its congeners ; 

 it frequents deciduous woods and groves, and is not found in 

 conifer woods. Its note is softer and it is quieter than the 

 other Woodpeckers. In winter it is to be found in gardens 

 and even in villages. It feeds almost if not quite exclusively on 

 insects of various kinds, but may in the autumn occasionally 

 eat berries. It breeds in April boring its nest-hole usually 

 in a very rotten tree, an elm, ash, or birch, and but rarely an 

 oak, and deposits 3 or 4 glossy white eggs, like those of 

 D. major, which measure about 1'7 by 0'76. 



Examples from Eastern Europe and N. Siberia have as a 

 rule the upper parts whiter, but I cannot consider them as 

 even subspecifically separable. 



