THE GREATER SPOTTED WOODPECKER 53 



stage, as in the case of the Green Woodpeckers, the sound must act as a guide 

 to the old birds. 



The bird figuring in the accompanying illustration had laid her eggs in a 

 freshly dug hole, although the chips which she had thrown out were completely 

 hidden by the bracken growing at the base of the tree, and would have escaped 

 notice altogether if they had not been looked for. 



The nest was first discovered on May 24th — and by a queer accident ; 

 for I chanced to strike the stem of a tree in which was a sparrow-hawk's nest, 

 merely to satisfy myself — if the hawk should fly off — that she had not suffered 

 the usual fate. To my surprise, I saw passing an opening in the trees not 

 only the sparrow-hawk, but at the same moment a Greater Spotted Wood- 

 pecker. 



Here indeed was good fortune, for though the sparrow-hawk's nest was 

 in a hopelessly dark position for photographic purposes — the Woodpecker's, 

 although perhaps unusually high up — some 55 or 60 feet — was beautifully 

 situated, as far as lighting was concerned, particularly since it was in a fir wood ; 

 an advantage that was greatly enhanced by the fact that the nesting-hole 

 was at the extreme top of the tree. Had it been lower, it would undoubtedlj' 

 have been correspondingly badly lit. 



And there is another very distinct advantage about trying for photographs 

 of a bird whose nest is at a great height from the ground, and that is the fact 

 that people who, passing beneath, happen to see the imitation camera or the 

 observation post, do not usually feel inclined to chmb up and interfere with it. 

 There is nothing more exasperating than to find that some of the youths who 

 are so frequently to be seen wandering aimlessly about the country on a Sunday 

 afternoon, have taken the eggs or killed the young birds, and thrown out the 

 imitation camera. 



The Woodpecker having sat so closely upon her young ones — who as 

 she left at once began their weird little bat notes — pointed to the fact that 

 they were newly hatched, or at any rate very small ; for had they been more 

 than a week old, she would not have been brooding, and would only have gone 

 into the hole to feed them. 



Consequently I judged that we had, in all probability, a couple of weeks 

 in which to arrange, and accustom her to, a dummy camera. So without 

 delay I collected a bundle of bracken and some dead branches, which were to 

 serve as an imitation camera, and commenced to climb the tree in which the 

 actual camera would ultimately be fixed. When I ascended, the chittering of the 

 young woodpeckers grew louder as the distance between us lessened, and I 

 wondered anxiously whether two weeks would not be too long a time to elapse 

 before trying for some photographs. 



However, I decided that they could only have been recently hatched, and 

 consequently that they ought not to be on the wing for about three weeks. 



