THE GREEN WOODPECKER. 119 



The Woodpecker can hardly be said to build a nest, 

 and yet it takes an immense amount of trouble in pre- 

 paring a site wherein to deposit the eggs. This is in a 

 hole made by the birds by continuous chipping with their 

 beaks in an old tree, and the chips of wood broken off 

 by the birds in the operation are said to be carried some 

 distance, in order that the hole may escape detection. 

 The entrance is small, but a larger cavity is scooped out 

 in the tree, and upon some of the dry chips of wood 

 the eggs are deposited. These are usually from five to 

 six in number, pure white in colour, and so transparent 

 that the yolk is visible. 



The young are fed upon the same insect food as the 

 adults. They will leave the nest before they can fly, 

 and run upon the branches of the tree. 



The young are not so brilliantly arrayed as the adult 

 birds, and the crimson of the moustache and upon the 

 head is much fainter. The black, too, is marred by 

 feathers tinged with greyish -white, whilst the breast 

 from the chin is much lighter, and the green generally 

 not so bright ; the plumage having somewhat of a speckled 

 appearance. 



The Green Woodpecker can be found in England 

 throughout the year, generally singly or in pairs; for 

 it is strictly non-gregarious, and pursues its avocation 

 in a quiet manner, except for the noise made by the 

 beak tapping upon the bark. Yet, as many of our readers 

 may remember, the Woodpecker is possessed of one of the 

 most peculiar songs to be found; indeed, it is generally 

 spoken of as a "laugh/"' and is very variously interpreted. 

 Morris speaks of it as " glou, glou, glou, gluck ! " but to 

 our ears it sounds more like "yaffa, yaffa, yaffle ! " which 



