40 



cassell's book of birds. 



upon that he beats the drum in loud and rolling taps, but yet without in the least perforating the tree. 

 The sound swells and sinks, hurries and lingers alternately, so that at a distance it resembles the 

 sound of rustic glee heard through the woodland ; if the Woodpecker's mate catches the sound she 

 answers to it, the bargain is concluded, and the business of the season begins ; if not, the male glides 

 on to another tree, uttering his short cry, ' Plu-i, plu-i,' and again resumes his serenade. If there 

 happen to be an odd bird in the forest, this call for a mate may occasionally be heard far into the 

 summer. If the tree selected by a pair of ^^'oodpeckers affords no natural hole for the purpose of 



1 ,1, v 







THE GREEN WOODPECKER {Geci?ms vhidis). 



nidification, they at once set about excavating one with their bills, working so fast that the strokes 

 cannot be counted either by the eye or ear. They know the tree by the sound, and though they will 

 cut through a few layers of perfect wood, they never mine into a tree unless it has begun to decay in 

 the interior. Nature guides them to those trees where their labour is light and they have plenty to 

 eat. In working they proceed as a mason does when he perforates a block of granite with a pointed 

 pick, they thump away with so much rapidity and force that the timber is ground to powder, and 

 they work in a circle no larger than will admit themselves. They generally burrow so deep that no 

 spoiler can reach the eggs in their absence, and further security is afforded by the opening being in 

 some hidden part of the tree. Materials are seldom carried into the nest, the bed for the reception of 

 the little family being formed of the soft powder from the wood. The eggs, from five to seven in 

 number, have a glossy white shell. The young are fledged in June, and creep about their native 

 tree-hole for some time before they are able to fly." 



