476 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



passing them across his mandibles until thoroughly crushed, 

 taking special care to break the head. 



July 17th. He has cast a few feathers. When the gas is 

 lighted at night he wakes, plumes himself, and then returns to 

 sleep. He has now wrought considerable havoc on the woodwork 

 of the cage, and quite a pile of fresh cork chips lie on the cage- 

 floor. Tbe most important of his excavations are planned and 

 executed before breakfast. He always flutters his pinions when 

 he thinks he should be fed : he prefers anything that I am 

 eating to the food already in his cage. 



July 20th. The Woodpecker is now really interested in nuts, 

 and eats them readily. The Nuthatch has now lost her fear of 

 him, and often springs to the bark beside him, though she never 

 stays long ; he always makes an unsuccessful dash at her if he 

 thinks that she is within reach. He is now flying actively about 

 the cage, sometimes giving vent to a loud clattering cry, which 

 I have not heard at other times ; he often startles the other 

 birds by the abruptness of his movements. 



July 22nd. A house-fly has just approached the aviary cage 

 (6.45 p.m.) ; the Woodpecker became much excited, but failed 

 to secure it. He appeared to be perishing of hunger when I 

 came down this morning, at 7.30 a.m., and accepted some meal- 

 worms ; he professed great joy at my return from church, and 

 asked for some plum-cake, on which he lunched heavily, but 

 of which he rejected the lemon-peel. Subsequently he grew 

 comatose, and dozed for twenty minutes ; then rousing him- 

 self, he hammered away on his anvil, making the chips fly 

 merrily, until I went out. Probably Woodpeckers naturally rest 

 a good deal, for they can hardly be always in motion. My 

 bird knows meal-times perfectly, and looks out sharply for 

 five o'clock tea. 



July 23rd. The Woodpecker, being rather apathetic and my 

 mealworms growing beautifully less, I reduced him to-day to 

 three grubs ; he declined to be put off with " half commons," 

 and demanded the completion of the treat. I offered him a 

 morsel of egg ; he seized it, instantly jerked it to the other end 

 of the cage, and the next instant made a ferocious dig into my 

 forefinger. He reproached me for many minutes, and then, by 

 way of revenge, betook himself to the task of disintegrating the 

 framework of his prison. 



