NOTES. 93 



writes us that " as far as it is possible to see the bird appears 

 to be similar to the one which escaped." It was shot only- 

 six miles from Mr. Beresford- Webb's house, and three days 

 after his bird had escaped, and little doubt remains that it 

 was in fact his bird and not a wild one. — Eds. 



CLIMBING MOVEMENTS OF THE GREEN 

 WOODPECKER. 



This season a pair of Green Woodpeckers {Gecinus viridis) 

 made a hole in a decaying cherry tree in the orchard next our 

 garden, in the village of Burwash. I could, from a garden 

 seat, watch them within fifty yards. The hen bird appeared 

 to be sitting by the middle of May. The male bird was 

 constantly bringing his mate food, and would fix himself 

 on the trunk for ten minutes at a time, partly supporting 

 itself by the stiff pointed tail-feathers, his head just level 

 with the orifice opening into the nesting-hole, often uttering 

 his plaintive cry. The female would now and again come up 

 and greet him by putting out her bill through the opening 

 hole. Unfortunately the orchard became the scene of carpet- 

 beating operations, which disturbed the Woodpeckers, and 

 in the intervals of absence a pair of Starlings commenced 

 an attack, and by rapidly throwing in bits of foreign material, 

 made the hole untenantable for the Woodpeckers, who 

 consequently deserted it. The late Professor Newton, in the 

 " History of British Birds " (Vol. II., p. 458), remarks in a 

 footnote that " Selby says he had repeatedly seen it descend 

 trees by moving backward. The editor has not been so 

 fortunate, though he thinks he must have enjoyed more 

 frequent opportunities of observing the bird." I can confirm 

 this statement of Selby ; the male bird of the pair I allude to 

 searched the bark of the decaying cherry tree in which the 

 hole was placed, with great assiduity. On reaching a sufficient 

 elevation it would descend backward with as great rapidity 

 as in its ascension. I was so close to the birds on many 

 occasions, that with the aid of glasses, I saw that during the 

 backward descent the points of the tail-feathers were kept 

 about an inch off the bark of the tree, though the tail and 

 back retained the curve, associated with the ascending bird. 



H. W. Feilden. 



MARSH-HARRIERS IN NORFOLK. 



During a short stay in " Broad-land " recently I had the 

 good fortune to have under observation for some considerable 

 time first a single specimen, and a day or two later a pair, 



