38 cassell's book of birds. 



scarcely distinguishable from it. At other times of tlie year it is mute, and its presence is only 

 betrayed by the reiterated tap which it makes against the bark of the tree." 



Naumann tells us that as this bird retires to rest later than many of the other feathered 

 inhabitants of its favourite groves or orchards, many and fierce battles ensue before it can obtain 

 possession of the particular hole it desires, as Titmice or Sparrows also prefer a warm, snug nook, and 

 are by no means disposed to resign quietly in favour of the would-be intruder. In these encounters, 

 however, might usually overcomes right, and a series of very pointed arguments, in the shape of 

 repeated taps and pecks from the enemy's strong beak, eventually compel the weaker bird to seek a 

 night's lodging elsewhere. 



The movements of the Harlequin Woodpecker are brisk and active, and as regards its climbing 

 powers it fully equals any member of its family already described. Towards men it exhibits the 

 utmost confidence, but lives in a state of almost perpetual warfare with its feathered companions. 

 During the breeding season, which commences in May, the male makes himself very conspicuous by 

 the constant utterance of his shrill monotonous cry and his restless activity in contending with 

 supposed rivals, or in his struggles to keep off the inroads of other males upon his chosen nesting- 

 place. This latter spot is always at a considerable height from the ground, in an old oak or lofty fruit 

 tree, whose decayed trunk can be readily penetrated by the beaks of the building pair. The recess 

 bored for the reception of the young is six inches deep, and is entered by an aperture as perfectly 

 circular in form as if it had been cut with a centre-bit. Many of these holes are frequently 

 commenced and abandoned before the requirements of the fastidious parents are satisfied. The 

 brood consists of from five to seven brilliantly white eggs, occasionally sparsely sprinkled with fine 

 red spots. The young are hatched within a fortnight by the united exertions of both birds, and are 

 nourished and tended for a considerable time after they have left the nest. The food of this 

 species appears to consist exclusively of insects, as even during the winter months we have found 

 nothing else in its stomach. Ants, spiders, beetles, and insects' eggs it consumes in enormous 

 quantities, and renders inestimable service to the gardener by the countless hosts of destroying insects 

 which it gleans from fruit-trees of every description. 



Bechstein gives the following account of an attempt to tame the Picus medius, a closely-allied 

 species. " I have," he says, " seen one of these Woodpeckers, which was reared by a lady and 

 seemed much attached to her ; it had learned to leave its cage and return, knocking hard at the 

 window if shut out. It was very amusing to see it climbing nimbly ove5: its mistress till it had reached 

 her mouth. It then asked her, by light strokes of the wing, for the food she was accustomed to give 

 it ; this was generally a little meat. It disappeared one day, without any one knowing what had 

 befallen it." 



THE THREE-TOED WOODPECKER. 



The Three-toed Woodpecker (Aptermcs tridactylus), as the most striking of all the European 

 members of this family is called, represents a group recognisable by their straight beak, which is 

 broader than it is high, and equals the head in length. All the three toes are shorter than the tarsus ; 

 of these the outermost is the smallest, and the two others of equal length. In the wing the fourth 

 quill is the longest. The centre feathers of the conical tail are furnished with very stiff shafts, and 

 sharply pointed at their tip. The upper portions of the body are black, and the under side dirty 

 white ; the brow black, spotted white, and the crown of the head pale golden yellow. A white line, 

 more or less marked with black, passes from the eyes to the middle of the back ; the bridles and a 

 second line that terminates at the throat are black ; as are the markings on the sides of the belly. 

 The quills and exterior tail-feathers are black, striped with white, and the centre tail-feathers entirely 

 black. The eye is pearl-grey or silver-white, the beak light grey, tipped with black, and the foot dark 



