101 
BLACK WOODPECKER. 
GREAT BLACK WOODPECKER. 
PLATE LIII.—FIG. I. 
Picus martius, A a : Pennant. Montacu. 
THESE birds commence building in the beginning of 
April, and the nest is placed in the hole of a tree, 
most frequently the fir, at a height, generally, of about 
fifty or sixty feet from the ground, or occasionally, in 
a hollow of a wall. The entrance to it is narrow, 
being only of sufficient diameter to admit a man’s hand; 
but beyond this, it widens in a downward direction, to 
the width of about nime inches. The chips and splin- 
ters made by the bird in excavating its nursery, fre- 
quently betray the locality to the curious, some of them 
being of considerable size, even several inches long; so 
great is the power of the bill, acting almost like a 
bill-hook. 
The eggs, from three, it is said, to five or six in 
number, are white, smooth, and shining. The male is 
reported to take his turn on the nest, and this labour 
of both lasts for seventeen or eighteen days. The young 
are fed with ants’ eggs, and are so carefully guarded 
by their parents, that they will hardly quit the nest if 
it be approached. 
