39 

 Picus viridis. 



Green Woodpecker. 



LOCAL NAMES. EGG OBSERVED. 



Popinjay. May 27th, 1866. 



Bainblrd. May 18th, 1868. 



May 10th, 1869. 



1870. 



This handsome and striking bird is, perhaps, commoner in 

 Savemake Forest than in any other part of England, owing 

 to the number of its beech avennes for which it has a 

 decided preference. Yet, on account of its shy habits, it is 

 oftener heard tapping against the trees or uttering its wild 

 laugh. If the tree from which these sounds are heard be 

 approached with care, so as not to frighten the bird, it is 

 most interesting to watch its peculiar method of feeding. 

 The wood is perforated by the beak which is very strong 

 and of a horny substance, wedge-shaped at the tip. The 

 tongue, which is of an extraordinary length, is then inserted 

 with marvellous rapidity — so quickly, indeed, that the eye 

 can scarcely follow it, and the insects, &c., are seized and 

 very soon disposed of. 



Its eggs are placed in a cavity in a tree, excavated on 

 purpose for them, by its same useful members, i.e., the tongue 

 and beak. The entrance hole is always as true a circle as if 

 it had been made by a pair of compasses. This hole is 

 generally found at a considerable height above the ground, 

 though this is not always the case, as in an instance men- 

 tioned by ]\Ir. Bosworth Smith, which, as it also gives an 

 interesting account of the attachment of this bird to its 

 nest, I will give in his own words. Of the Green Wood- 

 pecker he says *' Its nest or rather its eggs are occasionally 





