E. L. TURNER : WOODPECKER v STARLING. 145 



had been three Starhngs and one Woodpecker inside the 

 tree together ; so it seemed more than probable that, if 

 this marauding pair suffered the extreme penalty of the 

 law for their sins, others might carry on the feud. 

 Consequently, the nesting-box was tried first, with happy 

 results ; for the Starlings occupied it the same evening 

 (May 14th), and their young ones were fledged on June 

 19th, while the young Woodpeckers flew away a week later. 

 Evidently even in wild nature the strongest does not 

 always win, art and science hold their own. This the 

 Starlings seemed to know well when they pitted their 

 wits against mere physical strength ; for it seemed to me 

 they would win finally by mere persistence and cunning. 

 When very agitated, the Green Woodpecker would 

 rapidly ascend the bole of a neighbouring beech, and as 

 rapidly descend backwards in a curiously jerky manner, 

 as if she were climbing hand over hand down a rope. 

 I have never before seen any of the Woodpeckers 

 descend in this manner.* Owing to the height of the 

 nesting hole I was obliged to use a telephoto lens, the 

 slowness of which, added to the darkness of the w^ood, 

 made it impossible to obtain photographs of the amusing 

 attitudes and fighting tactics of these birds, and, when 

 the young were hatched out, the surrounding foliage had 

 become so dense as to make it practically impossible to 

 get any picture with a slow lens. Out of some fifty plates 

 exposed, the two accompanying photographs (from which 

 part of the background has been taken out) were almost 

 the only result worth mentioning ; but the enthusiastic 

 photographer, even if unsuccessful in his art, sees so 

 much of wonder and beauty that he has no cause to 

 grumble if the pictorial results are not always just what 

 he hoped for. 



* This article was received before the publication of Col. Feilden's 

 note on this subject (see p. 93). — Eds. 



