1,'] 



11 



measuring 26 millims. X 20 millims. The first eggs are generally laid about the 28th of 

 April. 



" Like other Woodpeckers it wanders to some distance in the autumn, and is often seen in 

 groves near habitations outside the town. It is almost always found in pairs, in the autumn, 

 however, in families ; but one never sees several close together. They are difficult to approach 

 within gunshot, and this is more particularly the case as regards the male." 

 The following account has been published by Dr. Kriiper : — 



" In the large forests of Pomerania it is common ; near Ueckermiinde, where the pines are 

 rare, I often found it getting its food at ant-hills by the roadside. It nests both in foliage and 

 conifer woods, boring its nest-hole sometimes high and sometimes lower, from twenty to sixty 

 feet, and in such trees as are rotten inside. The entrance is not round, like those of other 

 Woodpeckers, and is generally so large that a man can put his arm in. Hitherto I have never 

 had to enlarge the hole as my friend Mr. Hausmann has had to do several times in these parts. 

 The hole is below very roomy, and sometimes about a foot deep, but often twice as deep. In 

 Pomerania this Woodpecker commences to bore its nest late in March or early in April ; but, 

 according to circumstances, the nesting is later. Thus I discovered on the 22nd April, 1852, two 

 pairs so busy in forming their nest, that I could walk under the tree and hear the dull knocking 

 inside. They lay in the middle of April; and I have found eggs on the 13th, 17th, 21st, and 

 25th April; sometimes, however, later, as, for instance, in 1852 and 1853, when the breeding-time 

 of all birds was so irregular. On the 8th May I found four fresh eggs ; and another pair near 

 had not laid, whereas in another locality I found on the following day half-grown young. 



" According to the locality where this Woodpecker dwells it is during the breeding-season 

 either shy or bold. Thus the female from which I took the eggs on the 21st of April, 1848, left 

 the nest directly, and did not venture near again; on the other hand, on the 21st of April, 1851, 

 a female would not leave the nest, though we knocked on the trunk and threw up stones, until 

 the tree was climbed. After we had taken the four eggs, the bird flew in again, and would not 

 be driven out by knocking. 



" Forsaken Woodpeckers' nests serve as nesting-places during the summer to the Stock Dove, 

 the Poller; later on as retreats for the Squirrels, or sleeping-places for the Green and Spotted 

 Woodpeckers, as well as other birds. Thus, as Dr. Gloger most truly remarks about this Wood- 

 pecker, it does carpenter's work not only for itself, but for many other animals." 



According to Naumann it subsists not only on all sorts of larvse found under the bark of 

 trees, but is also partial to ants, feeding on the large race, Formica herculeana, as also on the 

 smaller ones, F. fusca and F. rufa, and their larvae. It is particularly fond of larvae of Sirex 

 gigas, Cerambyx, Lamia, &c, beetles, and larvse of Bostrichus, Hylesinus, Spondylis, &c, as also 

 the larvse of many insects which are found in wood, as, for instance, Cossus lignijperda, of which 

 several have been found in its stomach at one time. It is said to feed on bees, and to do harm 

 to the wild-bee swarms of the Bashkirs, near the Ufa River, necessitating steps to prevent its 

 ravages amongst them. Bechstein is said to have found conifer-seeds in its stomach, and states 

 that it feeds on nuts and berries ; but this Naumann doubts, as he failed to discover this in his 

 investigations. 



Much uncertainty has always shrouded the record of this bird's capture in England, and 



u2 



