4 



state that it is of very rare occurrence in Provence and Dauphine ; and Baron J. W. von Muller 

 says it " inhabits the Sevennes and Alps. Very rarely stragglers are said to be killed near 

 Montpellier." 



Bailly states: — " it is very common during all the year in Savoy, in the large conifer forests 

 of Maurienne, throughout all Tarantaise, Faucigny, particularly in the wooded valleys of Samoens, 

 Sixt, Chamounix, Passy, &c. It is also met with in the more lonely woods of the valley of Eparres, 

 Grande-Chartreuse, and St.-Hugon. I have also killed it in the forest of Joigny, near Chambery, 

 in October 1849, and again in the same locality in 1850 ; but I may remark that it neither breeds 

 here nor in the conifer woods of iElliat and Planet, above Saint-Cassin, where it is from time to 

 time to be observed during its autumn and winter wanderings." 



In Tuscany, Savi records it as " not uncommon in some of the mountains of Savoy and the 

 Tyrol." 



It is included by Bettoni among the birds which breed in Lombardy, where, however, it is 

 stated to be rare and migratory ; more often found in the Alps. 



Malherbe says it is " rare near Messina, but still it is found all the year in the forests of 

 Sicily, particularly in the centre of the island. 



It is found throughout the forests of Switzerland, whence Sir W. Jardine has received it 

 from Anderigg ; and in the Canton of Freyburg it is not very rare, according to Dr. L. Brehm. 

 Godron, in his ' Zoology of Lorraine,' considers it rare there, more common in the Vosges, " found 

 in the woods round Nancy, and at Bitche, according to Malherbe." Von Homeyer says, " One or 

 two pairs nest yearly near Seeligenstadt-on-the-Main, in Hesse Darmstadt ; and it is said to have 

 been common formerly in the forest near Frankfort." 



" In Belgium," writes De Selys-Longchamps, " I have not observed it, but know of a bud 

 killed in the large forest of Hertogenwald, near Verviers, on the Prussian frontier." 



Schlegel says that in Holland it has been twice seen at Tivello, and has been shot near 

 Groesbeck. Kja^rbolling considers it only an occasional visitant in Northern Denmark. 



Mr. R. Collett states that " near Christiania it is not rare, but is found throughout the year 

 in most of our large conifer woods." 



Nilsson says it is very rare in Southern Sweden, but commoner as one gets northward, 

 occurring even within the limits of the polar circle, and as high up on the fells as the pine- 

 forests extend. Herr Ludwig Holtz has recorded it from Gottland, where it is not rare ; and in 

 Lapland the late Mr. Wheelwright found it common. He writes : — 



" The Great Black Woodpecker was quite as common up here (Quickjock) as in the middle 

 of Sweden. We took the first nest on the 5th of May, which is about two weeks later than we 

 find them in the Wermland forests. As far as I can remark, five is the full number of eggs, 

 which vary much in size, sometimes being very little larger than those of the Green Woodpecker, 

 which bird I never saw in Lapland." 



Dresser found it plentiful in Sweden. 



Blasius says that it is a resident, and breeds at Dromlinge, near Brunswick ; and indeed 

 throughout all Germany it appears to be found in places suited to its habits and mode of 

 living. The following remarks as to its occurrence in Styria were published by the late 

 Mr. Seidensacher : — 



