The Bird Book 



of the female Great Spotted Woodpecker is 

 black. 



The nesting habits of the three species are 

 similar. A hole is bored with beautiful regu- 

 larity through the hard outer case of a decaying 

 tree ; then the tunnel turns downwards and 

 widens out into a chamber at distances varying, 

 according to the species, from six to twenty 

 inches below the entrance hole. No nest is made 

 unless the litter of powdered wood and chips at 

 the bottom of the chamber is worthy of the name, 

 and the same hole, if not appropriated by star- 

 lings, often does duty for more than one year. 

 The eggs, from four to eight in number, are 

 glossy white, and the species may easily be deter- 

 mined by their respective size. Identification 

 is rendered still more certain by the probability 

 of seeing the parent birds. 



I was once fortunate enough to see a Great 

 Spotted Woodpecker working at its hole not six 

 feet above my head, quite unconscious of my 

 presence. It was enlarging the entrance hole, 

 and the blows of its beak were so rapidly de- 

 livered as almost to make one continuous sound. 

 Another nest which I found within nine miles 

 of London contained young ones, and here at 

 least the old birds had not removed the chips 

 from the foot of the tree, as they are said to do, 

 from fear of these leading to its discovery. 



On my climbing to the nest, the young began 



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