The Great Spotted Woodpecker. 



25 



opening the stomach, my suspicions were confiniicd Ijy the discoverj', amon^j 

 other insects, of several small beetles, which are Annid only upon the hills. I 

 may mention that these beetles are very abundant in Shetland, although I do not 

 remember having seen any of the kind in England ; they are about the size and 

 shape of one half of a split pea, black, edged with scarlet. I afterwards saw 

 Spotted Woodpeckers in various parts of the hills and walls, and even in high 

 sea cliffs, I also saw them on roofs of houses and upon dung-hills, and, although 

 several were killed upon corn-stacks I never found any grain in the stomach. 

 They were frequently to be met with upon the ground among heather, where 

 at all times they were easily approached." 



In its flight and its method of procuring its food in the summer time this 

 bird much resembles the preceding species, its nidification is also similar, 

 although it appears rarely to have eggs before the middle of ]\Iay and is said 

 more often to alter a natural hole to suit its purpose than the Green Wood- 

 pecker : nevertheless it generally prepares a hole for itself of the usual pattern — 

 a neat circular entrance, a smooth passage and an enlarged terminal chamber 

 for the reception of the eggs : the latter are distinctl}- shorter than those of 

 G. viridis, hard, polished, creamy white, and from five to eight in number. A 

 specimen from my collection is figured on Plate VIIL, fig. 264. Incubation lasts 

 about a fortnight, both sexes undertaking this duty and sitting extremel}^ close, 

 so that thej^ may frequently be caught upon the eggs b}- hand. 



The usual note of this bird is described as a sharp chik or chink, some- 

 times varied by another cry ira ; it also appears to communicate Avith its mate 

 by means of its bill which it rapidly raps upon the tree trunks. 



The food consists chiefl}- of insects, their larvae and pupse, but apparently 

 not ants ; also spiders, earthworms, berries, small fruits, acorns, nuts, beech- 

 mast, and fir- seeds. In confinement many other articles of diet are given : 

 thus Stevenson says : — " One which was kept alive for some time by a person 

 in this city, in 1857, fed upon barlej'-meal and insects. The latter were 

 extracted from pieces of old bark supplied fresh ever}- da}- or two, and fastened 

 to the inside of the cage." 



Lord Lilford observes: — "The young of this Woodpecker are much less 

 difficult to keep in confinement than the species last treated of, as the}- take 

 readil}' to a fruit and vegetable diet and thrive thereupon ; the}- become xery 

 tame, and if set loose in a room will examine the furniture closely and 

 methodically, and clamber over the clothes of their keeper, search his pockets 

 for food, and come down from the cornice or top of book-shelves, pictures, 

 &c., at once on the offer of a fly or meal-worm." 



