THE BIRDS OF THE LUCKNOW CIVIL DIVISION. 25 
Lucknow. The entrance aperture, on the under side of the 
bough, was about $th of an inch in diameter, gradually 
widening to the egg cavity about 10 inches away towards the 
trunk of the tree. The eggs were white, and measured respec- 
tively -70 by °53 and °70 by *52 inches, 
180.—Brachypternus aurantius, Zin. 
The Golden-backed Woodpecker is common in almost every 
mangoe grove, and frequently enters compounds and gardens, 
while its shrill screaming call, uttered usually as it flies from 
tree to tree, is here quite a familiar “ wood note wild.” A 
specimen that 1 shot—now in the possession of Mr. Hume— 
had the upper mandible about a quarter of an inch longer than 
the lower, and taking its bill as a whole it was, I think, abnor- 
mally long. 
B. aurantius breeds, I believe, twice a year—first in March 
and April, and again after the rains set in. I have on two 
occasions found its nest, but could not get at the eggs without 
cutting into, and probably destroying, the large mangoe trees 
they were in, 
188.—Iynx torquilla, Zin. 
The Wryneck is fairly common during the cold weather. I 
have seen it frequenting dhak jungles, and on two or three 
occasions have noticed it in my own garden, but being a quiet 
and unobtrusive bird, it escapes detection when others less 
numerous but less retiring in their habits, would surely be seeu. 
193.—Megalema caniceps, Frank. 
The Common Green Barbet is a permanent resident, and is 
very abundant about Lucknow and in localities where wild 
fruit trees, especially the banian, pipal, &., abound, upon the 
berries of which it feeds. Though silent, as a rule, throughout 
the cold months, it is nevertheless the first to announce the 
coming of the spring. Just when the days are getting percep- 
tibly hotter in January, its loud startling call begins to be 
heard in the land, and from then, till the close of the breeding 
season in May, must be familiar to everybody, though few 
perhaps actually know tie bird. During the rains its call 
is less frequently heard, and ceases gradually as the cold season 
advances. 
On the 23rd April, and again on the 5th May, I found nests 
of this species, each containing two fresh eggs. One nest was 
in a hole made by the bird in an old mangoe tree, only about 
six feet from the ground, while the other was in a similar hole just 
about the same distance from the top of a tall Jamun tree. The 
4 
